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Chapter Text

A vicious snarl ripped through clenched teeth. The Nanadaime... no, the man gripped the Hakkō Chakura Tō firmly and wrenched it from the corpse. Bones creaked and its lifeless form lost its battle with gravity and crashed through the tree branches, landing with a solemn thump. With a flick of his wrist, blood flew from the chakra-infused blade, a streak of white following its path.

The restored blade felt alien in his palm. He did not deserve to wield such a beloved weapon, not he. With a heavy heart, the man continued down his path. Nothing was left. Everything was obliterated by Tobi. He had nothing, no-one. Not even Ka... no he mustn't think of the man. He had failed him. He had failed everyone. They had all put their trust in him and yet he failed them. He shut his eyes and willed his heart to stop beating as it had once before, many years ago at the hand of his best friend.

Grotesque images danced before his eyes, mocking him, willing him towards death. Sakura's body was a sea of reds and blacks, scorched flesh and caked-on blood; eyes gazed blankly skyward, mouth open in a silent plea. Sai. Gaara. Shikamaru. Ino. Choji. Kiba. Shino. Hinata. They all met the same fate as his beloved teammate and once upon a time crush. The losses broke his heart; one loss in particular shattered it.

His adoring sensei, his companion, his comrade and maybe in another life, his lover. For years, the stirrings of a romantic attachment had grown in the youth's heart. Of course, he ignored them. This was his sensei, one of the people who had practically raised him.

Over time their relationship had been changing, evolving into one more like friendship than student and teacher. It changed more and more, teetering on the edge of something... new. But, then of course, Kakashi died.

Silver locks were a stark red, limbs bent at impossible angles. He raced towards his almost lover, reaching a speed he never knew possible. He skidded to a stop, falling to his hands and knees. Outward, he reached with trembling hands, tracing a gaunt cheekbone. The facemask so beloved by his ex-sensei was in tatters. Ever loss had ripped at his soul but... this was the end for him. Tears swam down his whiskered cheeks in rivulets. Slowly, he closed Kakashi's gray eyes.

Tears begged to escape from their imprisonment. His legs trembled, his body nearly throwing itself to his death. Curse his sense of self-preservation that he so wished would let him fall.

Suddenly, the world tilted and unconsciousness claimed him.

Cerulean eyes opened to see a fiery tailed beast glaring at him. He rolled his eyes, and walked towards his life-long companion.

“Why won't you let me die?” his voice was hoarse with emotions. Damn that Kyuubi interfering with his life again. This was his choice, not the furry beast's.

Self preservation, the nine-tails replied. Yeah right, he thought with a snort. There... is an alternative.

“Don't try to fool me. If there was really an alternative you would have mentioned it long before now,” he growled, not allowing his friend to comfort him with false words.

I had hoped it wouldn't come to this point, the Kyuubi whispered, uncharacteristic for him.

“Don't lie to me,” he snarled, furious that his friend would play games with him when he was in such a fragile state.

It requires a lot chakra, my child; it was not an option before. I have been storing chakra since the loss of your beloved and I think we can pull it off.

“Pull what off, Kurama?”

Going back in time of course.

He guffawed at the concept. “There's no such thing as time travel. You must have knocked your head there, old man.”

Father showed us once, the map of fates. When one door closes, the world continues on beyond it. There are multitudes of presents and pasts. He could move freely through them, seeing how each decision would play out. We can go back. Change those decisions, those instances that would effect the entire world. You must remember. One flap of a butterfly's wings and the universe shifts. Some things should not be toyed with.

Before he could respond, Kurama raised his paws into handsigns and channeled his chakra. Eyes closed, he murmured the incantation. Jikan idō.

The souls of the deceased whispered their thanks. They sounded much like screams, these whispers. So many voices rose in succession, forming a whirlwind. Suddenly, he was back in his body and he was flying up, up, up. He gazed down at the world below him, disturbingly unperturbed by his flight. The earth was scorched, patches where villages once stood were raised and ashy.

The voices screamed louder. Naruto. Naruto. Naruto. Never forget, Naruto.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: The Beginning

When Naruto awoke, he felt a sharp wind whipping at his face. He opened his eyes to see the world below him; it was nothing like the world he had left behind. Gone were the black streaks and decimated villages. Everything was intact.

Green and blue stretched for as far as the eye could see. It was like a beautiful patchwork quilt, the ones he had always admired from a distance but never owned. His fingers instinctively reached for purchase on something, anything, but were met with no resistance.

Confident that his life-long companion would assist him at any time, he relaxed and decided to take in the view. From the tall vast green forests of Hi no Kuni to the endless yellow sand of Kaze no Kuni and the deep blue waters of Mizu no Kuni, this world was beautiful. A soft smile consumed his face as he got lost in pleasant memories of his and his friends' adventures.

Quickly, the lush forests became closer and closer. His eyes widened, Kurama had not yet said anything, had not moved to protect him. Now 10km from the earth, he was traveling far too fast to have any chance of survival. He had heard stories of miracles, villagers swept up in tornadoes and thrown hundreds of miles an hour into the ground that still survived. He was shit out of luck, though, having had plenty of miracles in his life up until this point.

Now panicked, he pulled on Kurama's chakra but found nothing. His hand scooped into the water but it all poured out of his open fingers. 'Kurama!' he screamed in his mind as he hurtled towards the ground. All he received in response was silence.

He closed his eyes and braced for an impact on the hard dewy ground. It never came. His body seemed to float, the screaming voices whirled around him, bringing him to rest gently on the earth's crust. “Shhhhh,” they whispered, then all at once like a murder of crows, they screamed, “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” and disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.

The 23 year-old broken man took in his surroundings. A quick pulse of chakra later and he determined that he was approximately 210 km due West from Konoha. Arching backwards, his bones cracked appreciatively, the fall had taken quite the toll on his body even though he was saved by the souls.

His hand stretched out unbeknownst to him, and laid itself on the bark of a nearby oak. The pads of his fingers traced the lines appreciatively, lovingly, as if caressing a lover. Oh how he had missed trees that had no chance of being Zetsu. He gazed upwards into the green canopy above. Light spilled through the leaves above him, speckling the shaded ground with vivid color.

He wished for a moment of rest, a moment to enjoy the world around him, but there was no time to lose. He didn't know what time he had been placed in, what 'Paths', as Kurama called them, he must change. There were so many decisions, seemingly trivial, that had created his Path in time. So many things had to be changed, he needed to know where to start.

Taking to the trees, he began his approach to Konoha, determined to figure out what time he had ended up in. The wind whipped around his face, pleasantly this time. The cool breeze caressed his sun-kissed skin, coursing through his clothes, leaving the bedraggled articles light and airy.

'Kurama', he nudged his favorite travel companion. No response yet again. The lack of his constant co-pilot gave him pause. Stopping in his tracks, he settled into a tree and created several shadow clones to keep watch. Into his mindscape he went, searching for his friend.

Everything was a mess. Trees were uprooted and a storm roared above the meadow that he had created. “Kurama!” He screamed over the strong wind and rain. His eyes darted around the clearing, trying to locate the giant demon that had always resided here. Still, no luck. The air around him seemed to get colder by the second. He could not even consider wasting chakra on keeping warm or dry, so he decided to take the only alternative path; shelter.

Quickly, he searched for refuge. A large hollow tree stood stark in the distance and he moved to take sanctuary within it. Peering into the dark with chakra enhanced eyes, he spotted a very small chakra signature which seemed like Kurama's, but also not at all his.

He pushed onward towards the strange signature, pushing out a sense of calm. His enhanced vision revealed a small fox kit, the red fur around its shoulders pricked up in fear; a small growl erupted from its throat, though it seemed more a purr than anything threatening.

'Who are you, where is Father, where are my siblings?' it snarled.

“K-Kurama?” he intoned, shocked by the once almighty nine-tails that was reduced into this small kit. Just in case, he checked the number of tails. 1-2-3...9...9 tails. It was definitely Kurama. A small Kurama but Kurama nonetheless. This must be why he was so hesitant, he thought. Kurama was nothing if not straight-forward and his avoidance of the topic was telling.

'Who. Are.You? Why do you know my name, human?' the small creature seemed to glow with anger. Definitely Kurama, he chuckled inwardly. He stretched a hand outward in a calming manner. “I will not hurt you, I am a friend. I know your father, the Sage of Six Paths. I am a descendant of his. We were stuck in a bad Path. You placed us back in time so that we could make the correct decisions to end up on a better Path,” he reassured the small beast.

'I would not help a human,' Kurama scoffed.

“Aah but you did. How else would you be here, with me? You are sealed inside me, we are in my mindscape,” the man replied with a smirk.'Very well, you shall release me then. As the Kyuubi no Youko I demand it of you. Free me and I shall let you live,' the tiny being threatened his prison, completely ignoring anything related to the jutsu that he supposedly used.

“How about we come to an agreement? You help me and I'll help you,” he offered up for consideration.

'What sort of agreement?' The Kyuubi narrowed his blazing red eyes.

“You help me fix the Path and I'll set you free,'”he replied with an easy smile. All he had to do was win back his friend through sheer perseverance. “As a sign of good faith, I'll partially free you, allowing you to come and go from the seal as you please,” he added, not mentioning the fact that he could pull the Kyuubi back into the seal with ease if he were to get out of control. The nine-tails seemed to consider this proposal before nodding his blood-red head.

'I accept your proposition small human.'

He rolled his eyes, replying, “you're not so big yourself, short-stack. At least I'm fully grown.”

'Do not call me such insolent names. Bow before your master!' Kurama growled in fury.

A burst of laughter came out of his mouth, the first in several years. “Look at yourself, you're a kit,” he chuckled.

Slowly, the Kyuubi looked down at his tiny red paws. His red eyes flashed in anger. 'What have you done to me? I demand you turn me back.'

He snorted in laughter again. “You used some jutsu... the Jikan idō, and now you're little, there's nothing I can do to fix it.”

'It would appear you are telling the truth. Do you know the year?

“Not yet. I was just on my way to Konoha.”

'Well get a move on,' the beast retorted.

“Aye aye, captain,” he mockingly saluted with a wink. This was the best he had felt in years. The demon rolled his eyes in response before moving to the mouth of the tree, his feet unsteady on such short legs.

The storm appeared to have stopped. The clouds had dispersed, birds sang again. Flowers opened their delicate pink and purple petals towards the glowing sun. Fresh green leaves blew gently in the breeze, showering the cool earth below them with droplets of water.

He wouldn't fail this time. This was his new beginning.

Chapter Text

Racing through the beautiful growing trees was nostalgic. Everything was full of life. Kilometers passed with a breath as he drew nearer and nearer to his village. A sudden realization dawned upon him. He could not enter the village looking like a short-haired Minato; he had to change his appearance.

He was a shadow, invisible to the naked eye. It was fitting that he blend in with even villagers. He chose an austere look, black hair and brown-black eyes. The face he chose was genial, neither overly intimidating or friendly, simply a kind face that you quickly glance over while going about your business. He was nobody, nothing. He chose an average height for a shinobi at 175cm he was just under his previous height. Broad shoulders and a somewhat stocky build finished off his look.

Kneeling down on a limb, he unsealed some ink and a brush from a scroll located in an intricate design on his left forearm. Delicately, he dipped the brush into the well. The ink seeped into the light colored bristles. The brush weaved itself in a unique design, original to his appearance.

Outwardly, the seal behind his right ear appeared to be a small naruto, signifying his past. Raising a finger to his mouth, he bit, drawing blood. He carefully added the blood to the seal, making it so that he was the only one able to remove the henge.

Satisfied with his work, he rose to stand. The black-haired man wore a jounin vest and blue battlesuit typical of your usual jounin. He did not tape the sleeves of his battlesuit, simply leaving them to blow in the breeze so that he had access to the seals hidden below the blue fabric. Upon his hands were fingerless gloves with non-reflective metal plates, on which were inlaid leaf symbols. Black ANBU pants joined the ensemble, taped at the ankles and leading down to blue shinobi sandals. His hitai-ate was on blue fabric and laid simply over his forehead.

All-in-all he looked like your stereotypical Konoha jounin. Nothing about him was spectacular or unique. He looked not at all like the number one unpredictable ninja and he was glad for it.

Channeling chakra to his feet to muffle the sound, the nameless shinobi stood and continued on his path. Hiding his chakra signature was second nature, but he put a certain twist on it. He decreased the amount of chakra escaping from his body to that of a regular jounin instead of his normal overwhelming amount. Now, he truly was just a typical jounin. Nothing about him screamed excellent or even above average.

He was a new person. An anonymous entity. Of course, the best way to remain anonymous is to hide in plain sight. He would integrate himself into Konoha life as if he had always been there, simply an average jounin who had been overlooked.

A familiar chakra signature caught his attention. It was one he had been around for nearly his whole life. It was the most important signature in his life. It was... Kakashi. The man sped up his pace. The signature was weak, flagging up and down, indicating injury. His heart nearly stopped.

He quickly caught up with the injured man, but hid in a tree, unwilling to confront the man he loved quite yet. His heart thumped uncontrollably in his chest. Kakashi's hair had a slight red tinge to it, the memory of the color hurdled him through time. He was too late. Always too late.

The grayish-red haired man took a stumbling step forward and fell, crumbling to the floor like a forgotten doll. He froze. Not again not again not again not again not again his mind raced, out of control. Without any consideration about Kakashi's potential team or enemy, he descended. His mind was numb, simultaneously in the present and future.

He fell to his knees next to his wounded comrade. His hand reached out on its own volition, caressing the stained locks. Numerous gashes had found their way across the copy nin's body. There was no time for the tears that threatened to fall.

The man carefully pulled Kakashi onto his back, the copy nin's head lolled gently on his shoulder. It was nostalgic. He took off in a full sprint, not caring about chakra conservation any longer. His hands were fully occupied keeping his comrade comfortably on his back, leaving him unable to defend himself, but he didn't care. His only goal was the hospital.

All he could think of everything he loved about the man. From his careless attitude to his inner-most feelings of adoration towards his comrades. He was always late not because of carelessness, but because of love. He not only was teaching patience, but giving those who had died for their country the attention they deserved.

Kakashi was careless when his loved ones were faced with danger. He cared not for himself, only for their safety. He was willing to die for those that he considered his precious people, just like the man himself.

Slight motion on his back rose the man from his thoughts. A masked nose inhaled the scent he was confronted with. Steel. Blood. Sunshine. A sweet concoction that smelled like home. The copy nin's gray eye opened to see black locks of hair tickling his face. His instincts screamed home, yet Kakashi was on high alert. He glanced up to see the ninja's forehead hoping to find affiliation. Seeing the Konoha leaf symbol, the rest of the energy in his body drained.

“Who are you,” Kakashi murmured into the hair that smelled of home.

“No one,” the man responded. Actually, he just hadn't thought to come up with a name. He thought he had plenty of time before interacting with anyone who would want a name.

“Ok Mumei, whatever you say,” he mumbled before losing the battle with consciousness.

Mumei it is, he thought. Mumei pushed himself harder, ran faster, refusing to let the man he loved die. The man was seen in the future, he wouldn't die at this point, but Mumei wasn't thinking in that way. All he could see was what was directly in front of him; a wounded and dying Kakashi.

I could use some help, Kurama, he spoke to his inner demon.

The Kyuubi hissed in response and removed himself from the seal, materializing in the form of a one-tailed fox. The wolf-sized beast sped alongside Mumei in the trees. A red chakra manifested itself in the air around the fox and was absorbed by the man next to him.

Mumei took in the glowing red chakra easily, as if breathing air. He pushed more into his feet and flew higher and further in the air than before. Kurama rolled his eyes in contempt, not understanding why humans were so peculiar in their affections.

Mumei's feet took on a red aura as he practically flew down his path towards home and safety. Red trailed behind the trio, emitted by the fox and shinobi's feet. Mumei was on high alert for any villagers or shinobi in the area. If they were to stumble upon this sight, it would definitely raise a few questions, questions that the man certainly did not want to answer.

Finally, Mumei, the fox and Kakashi neared the front gate.

“Kurama, disperse,” Mumei ordered the ornery fox. Quickly, the man absorbed the rest of Kurama's chakra, removing it from his feet and integrating it with the rest of his system. Glowing red feet would be hard to explain to a passer-by.

Whatever, he muttered, descending the branches and running off to the South in search of prey.

Don't harass any humans, he called after the disappearing fox.

You take all the fun out of hunting, Kurama grumbled from inside Mumei's head.

The ornate main gate appeared in Mumei's sight. Finally.

He sped by the gate guards, Izumo and Kotetsu, avoiding an uncomfortable conversation. The black-haired pair widened their collective three eyes in surprise, seeing the infamous Kakashi no Sharingan unconscious on the back of another shinobi. With the copy nin on Mumei's back, it was unlikely that the duo would report an intruder as it was obvious that he was part of the village.

It wasn't like he had to sign in; the gate guards typically knew every ninja and civilian that passed through and marked down who came and went. He probably could have talked his way out of being reported, but this was actually much more convenient.

The fact that the guardians were Izumo and Kotetsu narrowed down the time frame he was in. At the very least he was in a time before the Fourth Great Shinobi War and after he was the age of 5 when they first started their time as gate watchers. Time seemed trivial with his sensei hanging onto life on his back.

Mumei took to the roofs, hoping to avoid the civilian traffic of the main road that cut through Konoha. The hospital was located off to the left side of the main road three quarters of the way into the village.

Being back in his village, alive, whole, almost gave him pause. Mumei had no time for reminiscing, his only desire was seeing his ex-sensei tended to by medics. Of course, that didn't mean that he couldn't look around and take in the sights while he was running.

His eyes narrowed upon the sight of the Hokage Mountain. There were only 4 figures. That meant that Tsunade was yet to become Hokage. Naruto was between the ages of 5 and 14. This wasn't a bad range of years to work with. Much could be changed in those 9 years.

Arriving on the roof of the hospital, he was met by several medics with a gurney. Izumo and Kotetsu must have radioed ahead, he determined. Mumei resolved to make sure that his younger self played less pranks on those two than he once had.

He gently laid his companion on the gurney, lightly holding Kakashi's hand as he was whisked away. They remained in contact for as long as possible before suddenly Kakashi was gone down the hallway.

Once the Hatake was gone, the medics seemed to suddenly realize that there was another shinobi there, as if they hadn't seen him carry the copy nin there. They scrambled towards him, assessing and determining that there was no harm done. It was a new sensation. He had never had hospital workers interested in his well-being.

Mumei had spent his youth ignored and abused by everyone he met other than his Jiji and Team 7. This was an odd feeling. He couldn't determine if he was upset by the fact that they treated others so utterly different than his young self or he was still rattled by the near loss of his beloved.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Mumei followed down the hallway where they had taken Kakashi. He stopped at the nurse's station to quietly ask which room they had taken him to. The nurse happily replied, absolutely no contempt that he had once adjusted to present in her voice.

Medics were consumed with activity, fluttering around Kakashi's prone body checking vitals, healing gashes and chakra coils. Quietly, he assumed a spot in the corner where he was out of the way but still able to keep an eye on the goings-on.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a cheeky nurse going for Kakashi's face mask. Consumed with anger, his hand shot out and grabbed the nurse by the wrist. “Don't,” he growled. The nurse was taken aback, she had not even noticed that Mumei was in the room.

She bowed at the waist, clearly apologetic. She ran from the room, tears starting to escape from the corners of her eyes. Mumei grunted and returned to his corner. Nobody would disrespect his Kakashi while he was unconscious and unable to defend himself.

Once again, he unsealed his fuuinjutsu materials from his forearm and drew another seal on the man's skin behind his right ear, just as he had done to himself earlier that day. The medics looked at him oddly when he took a swipe of Kakashi's blood as well as his own and placed them on the seal. Now, nobody could dispel the henge on Kakashi's face except the man himself and... well, he was feeling a bit possessive.

The seal appeared as a small naruto tattoo. Mumei apparently now had a signature for his seals; a naruto was ambiguous and wouldn't lead back to him, fortunately.

One by one, the staff left the room once Kakashi was in stable condition. Mumei left the corner he had claimed as his own and settled into a chair next to the copy nin's side. He estimated that Kakashi would not awaken for another few hours. This gave him enough time to watch his beloved for a while, taking in each breath as if it were a message from Kami-sama.

Slowly, his eyes closed. How long had it been since he last slept? A week at the least...and he was out.

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As Kakashi regained consciousness, he scented the air, determining his location. Antiseptic... hospital. Steel, blood, sunshine... home. He opened his eyes in shock, how was that scent home? Gray and red mismatched eyes quickly jotted around the room, taking in their surroundings. They were indeed in the Konoha hospital.

A very plain man who he had not seen before was seated next to his hospital bed. He reached for his hitai-ate which sat on the table next to the bed and placed it over his sharingan eye. Narrowing his gray eye, he took in the sight before him. The man was, well, average. His chakra seemed average, his face was average, his eyes were average, his black hair was average. Nothing about him stood out.

Not a single scar marred his average face, leaving nothing for a memory to attach to. His hair was similar to Minato-sensei's. It stuck out at odd angles on the top and two locks of hair lept smoothly over the standard headband and framed his face. Home man was cute. Wait, did I just think that? He startled. There was absolutely nothing extraordinary about him. How the hell could he find him attractive?

It was probably tied to his scent. Kakashi's sense of smell was very well-developed, better than that of an Inuzuka. It must have been the scent that drew Kakashi to this stranger.

Suddenly, he realized that he had no shirt on. His sleeveless shirt was attached to his mask, therefore he was maskless! His hands flew to his face, but found a mask there already. Kakashi felt like he was going crazy for not the first time that day.

His sharp movement seemed to awaken the stranger, as brown-black eyes snapped open. They blinked owlishly and the man stood quickly. It took all the strength in Kakashi's body to keep from reaching out and grabbing the man's hand to force him back into the chair. What is wrong with me today? I'm definitely going crazy or this is a dream.

“Who are you?” he decided was a good line of questioning.

“Uh... Mumei,” the stranger replied. Mumei? That was a dumb name.

“Ne, why are you in my hospital room, Mumei.

“I don't know, Hatake-san. I just wanted a place to take a nap. I'll be seeing you,” he replied, raising his hand in a salute before quickly performing a Shunshin and disappearing in smoke.

That was weird. Not so average after all. Now he just had to figure out the mystery of the appearing mask henge.

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Mumei panted against a wall near his old apartment, not from exhaustion but panic. Holy shit that was close. He couldn't bare to be around Kakashi like that. Not being able to touch him, to tell him everything was draining to say the least.

Now that he was inside the gates, he had some things to accomplish. First of all, he had to inform Jiji that he was from the future. It was something he had debated for a very long time, but in the end, three was no way to be a ninja in Konoha without the old man knowing him. He didn't want to burden the man with the truth of the future, but he had to do it for the sake of ever Konoha citizen.

So, he set out for the Hokage Tower on foot through the village. His approach would have to be very non-threatening. No window entrances as he was “average” and only extraordinary shinobi used the window as their means of approach. Door it was, then.

As he passed by many shops, stands and houses, he realized what it felt like to be normal. Not hated, not beloved, just... accepted. He didn't like it. It felt wrong. Having spent his whole life either one or the other, being somewhere in between felt like the world was just not quite right. A shiver sent itself through his spine. What a terrible feeling.

He approached the Hokage Tower practicing over and over in his head what he would say to the old man. How would he convince the Hokage of the future?

I can show him, Kurama butt into his thoughts yet again.

How? Mumei questioned the Kyuubi.

Must you ask so many questions? I'm already helping you out.

Fine, fine. You just do your thing when it comes time.

He could feel Kurama mocking him from where he stood.

Opening the doors to the ground floor, he felt like he was coming home. So many times had he opened these doors, barely able to reach the knob, and came to see his loving Jiji. He pushed forward, winding up the incline of the spiral ramp. He imagined a younger version of himself, fresh from his trip with Ero-sennin, walking up this ramp with the rest of Team Kakashi. Oh how he missed them.

He nodded to the chuunin at the desk in front of the Hokage's office. Mumei passed through the doors with ease, no confrontation to be had. He braced himself for what he would find behind the door. It had been over a decade since he had seen the Third. His death had been his first ever loss of someone that he loved; the first time he had failed someone.

The door slowly opened. Mumei stepped through the opening, prepared for what he would see.

The sight of the old man's face, liver spots and all, froze him in place. His small beard gave the Hokage a monkey-like quality, fitting because of his summons. Suddenly, he wasn't so sure he could do it anymore. How could he tell the man that raised him that both his son and grandson were dead in the future and it was all his fault?

No. He must be brave. For his precious people, he could fix this. He could change the Path. He could save Asuma, save Konohamaru, save everyone.

Mumei walked into the room. The Hokage looked up from his paperwork, a puzzled look on his face. “Wh-,” he began, but Mumei quickly spoke.

“It was like certain dinners I remember from the war. There was much wine, an ignored tension, a feeling of things coming that you could not prevent happening,” Mumei whispered, barely audible.

“Leave us,” the Hokage quickly demanded of his ANBU guards.

Several masked shinobi and kunoichi appeared and then quickly vanished.

Mumei knelt, removing a pre-made barrier seal. It would shield the room from chakra and sound from both entering and exiting.

The Third narrowed his eyes and looked at the stranger expectantly. “How do you know that phrase?”

“I'm the Nanadaime Hokage,” he replied gently, biting a finger and placing it on the seal behind his right ear. The henge dispersed. “My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm from the future.”

Chapter Text

Suffice to say, the current Hokage was shocked. “The technology for time travel does not currently exist, what proof do you have?”

The Sandaime Hokage was not completely unbelieving, as he was the Shinobi no Kami, he understood that time and space travel was theoretically possible; they just had yet to achieve it.

Mumei stepped forward, reaching out his hand to the Hokage. Sarutobi narrowed his eyes in response, but took the outstretched hand in his own.

Blood. All he could see was red, oozing blood. The entire village was covered in it. Copper saturated the air, invading every sense. As used to blood as he was, this was too much; he gagged on the taste. It dripped down over the walls, flowed down through the streets, bubbled and oozed out of houses and stores.

As soon as Hiruzen had adjusted, the flashes began. Bodies removed from the wreckage of villages were piled high in the bloody streets in one flash. Shinobi battered and bloody in a field in the next. And on it went. Death. Destruction. Agony. Screams. And blood. So much blood. Never before had he seen so much blood. The Great Shinobi Wars 1 through 3 all combined hadn't created so much death.

He saw it all, up until time was rewound; he saw everything. It was an awful sight.

The Hokage grasped the hand in his tighter, rounding the desk quickly and enveloping the young man in a hug. Mumei flinched at the contact; it had been ages since had been hugged by one of his precious people.“I'm sorry,” the aged man whispered.

Mumei looked at the wall behind his Jiji in disbelief. This was not the reaction that he had anticipated. He had pictured some yelling, a lot of disappointment, maybe even a lecture, but this? This was worse.

He had killed them all and Jiji was sorry? No. It was his fault. Always his fault. He destroyed everything he touched. Everyone who even considered him someone to love died. Every. Time. Mom. Dad. Jiji. Iruka. Konohamaru. Sasuke. Sakura. Kakashi. Everyone. He couldn't bear this compassion.

“I did it. I killed them, but I'll fix it, Jiji. I'll fix it,” he replied with a cracked tone. The old Hokage was heartbroken. This was not the future that he wanted for his pseudo-grandson. He had dreamt of happiness, the Hokage hat, but not like this; not because everyone was dead.

“You did nothing wrong, my boy. None of it is your fault,” the Hokage replied, knowing that Naruto was beating himself up for everything that happened in the future.

Mumei disagreed but he was not interested in arguing with his Jiji, it had been a decade since he had last seen him. Instead, he hugged him tighter. In his head, however, he played his new mantra, I'm sorry, I'll do better. I'm sorry, I'll do better. I'm sorry, I'll do better.

Finally, the old man released the future Nanadaime.

“How old am I, Jiji?” Mumei finally pushed to one of the main points of his visit.

“6, Naruto. You are 6,” the Third replied.

Mumei shut his eyes tightly, six years of loneliness, six years of hatred. He had hoped that he would have gone back earlier, somehow taken care of his younger self. Still, there was plenty that could be changed.

The Hokage released Mumei from his grasp. “How old are you?” questioned the Third.

“23,” he replied simply.

“You’ve seen far too much, my boy,” Sarutobi lamented.

“That’s why I’m back. To keep younger generations from facing such horrors,” he answered.

Sarutobi rested a hand on Mumei’s shoulder. “What is your first course of action?”

“The Uchiha no Jiken,” Mumei confided, “Under the orders of Shimura Danzo, Uchiha Itachi kills his entire clan.”

The current Hokage stilled. “How will we prevent this from happening?” he wondered.

“Killing Danzo and freeing Root. We cannot help the older members, but the younger still have a chance.”

“Root is still active?”

“They were never inactive, Jiji,” Mumei shook his head solemnly, thinking of Sai and the challenges that he had faced. The brutality and brainwashing that each Root soldier went through was truly horrific. There was no way to combat the brainwashing, really. No documented ways, of course. If their memories could be sealed, however, the anguish that they had suffered could be taken away.

“Then killing Danzo is the only option.”

“His death means that not every Uchiha has to die.”

“In my name, Uzumaki Naruto-” before the Hokage could finish, Mumei interrupted.

“It's Mumei now.”

“Just Mumei, no sir name?”

“No.”

“You will be a Namikaze then. Minato's brother.”

“But Jiji-” the Hokage returned the favor, cutting the younger man off.

“No. You won't be in the shadows, my boy. You are meant to bask in the sunlight. I refuse to allow you to slip into the shadows of yourself and let the darkness consume you. You will by my emissary, my bringer of light.”

“Jiji, I deserve the darkness, I failed everyone. I failed you.”

“You've never failed me and you never will. You are my precious Hi no Ishi. Mumei in name, you will not remain anonymous, not in my Konoha.”

Mumei sighed. He had forgotten how stubborn Sarutobi was; the man refused to give up once he had decided on something.

“Hn,” he acquiesced. Kami-sama he really was turning into a broody, older, cooler version of Sasuke. He had spent way too much time around that teme; up until his death of course. “Since I'm a Namikaze, can I tell Naruto of his heritage?”

Sarutobi sighed but agreed, “I suppose that would be best.”

Mumei took a moment to determine his new appearance. He would have to have sunny yellow hair like his father and younger self. He decided on spiky locks with two smooth bangs coming down over his hitai-ate. Bright blue eyes completed the combo. He covered the whisker marks he had his whole life with smooth, soft skin.

His blue body suit and flak jacket remained the same as well as his black ANBU pants. On his arms he carefully chose forearm protectors made of non-reflective metal that resembled those that the young copy nin once wore. Completing the ensemble were black shinobi sandals and black fingerless gloves with the Konoha symbol engraved on the metal.

Biting his finger and placing it on the naruto behind his ear brought his pictured henge to reality. He looked quite similar to his father without being a complete replica. His facial structure still appeared to be Uzumaki-esque. Mumei decided that he and Minato had the same father but different mothers, his being an Uzumaki. That would help explain his sealing abilities better than saying 'I read a few books.'

“Better?” he asked.

“Much,” the old man replied. “Now then, lets get you settled in Konoha. I will give you your father and mother's inheritance; I know you will share it with your younger self. Your blood should allow you into your parents' compound. It's up to you if you would like to live with Naruto; I won't stop you.”

Emotions welled up inside of Mumei. He wanted to know why his Jiji didn't allow him to live with anyone. The number of people who would have taken him in were limited but there were still a few. Jiji could have taken care of him. Mikoto, Sasuke's mom was Kushina's best friend. There was Kakashi. Jiraiya. There were several places he could have lived besides the orphanage where they abused him. It was unfair; that's how a shinobi's life was, unfair. At least he could make little Naruto happy, safe.

“Thank you, Jiji.”

“Alright, let's get you set up with a picture so I can complete your shinobi paperwork,” the Third said happily. “Aaah I almost forgot,” he continued before rummaging around in his desk. He pulled out a Konoha hitai-ate. “Now you can have a real one, not just a henge.”

Mumei reached out his hand, apprehensively taking the protector as if it might bite him. It had been a long time since he had worn the Konoha band; the one engraved with Shinobi had taken its place for a very long time. He released his henge and removed the Shinobi hitai-ate from his forehead and tied it around his waist. He then put on his new hitai-ate. He reminisced about his first hitai-ate, how Iruka had literally and metaphorically saved his life and given him that hitai-ate; he missed it.

Biting the same finger as before that had healed thanks to Kurama, he placed his finger back on his seal and became Namikaze Mumei once again. This time, his forehead protector was real and his Shinobi band was concealed. He could feel it on his person, reminding him of what happened in the future, grounding him, but it could not actually be seen.

“Let's get your shinobi photograph taken so I can finish up your paperwork,” the Hokage cut in after giving Mumei sufficient time to settle himself.

Mumei removed the barriers that had kept them protected while they had their discussion. The ANBU quietly appeared back in the room, taking their previous positions. They seemed suspicious of the blond-haired man that had replaced the brunette. Their hair was the same, just a different color but the face was completely different. Something odd was going on here but it was not their place to speak of it.

The Hokage raised his hand and an ANBU in a Rabbit mask appeared next to him. “Call for the photographer, we have a new shinobi,” he requested.

Without a word, Rabbit disappeared. The Hokage went about some paperwork while Mumei stood there in silence. There was an uncomfortable tension in the air between the blond-haired man and the ANBU guards. The Third seemed none the wiser, going about his paperwork with practiced ease.

About ten minutes later, a lithe man appeared at the door to the Hokage's chambers panting quite heavily. In his hands he had the camera and its stand. Obviously the ANBU had said it was urgent because the man had arrived quite quickly for being a civilian stationed 15 minutes walk away.

On unsteady legs, the cameraman staggered into the room.”Where *huff* should I *huff* set *huff* up, *huff* Hokage-sama?”

“By the window is fine,” the Hokage replied with a wave of his hand.

Mumei moved over in front of the window and waited patiently while the exhausted cameraman set up his equipment.

Several minutes later, the contraption was set up and Mumei tried on a smile for the first time in several years. It was a strained looking thing, far too forced. In the end, he looked like he had bit a lemon and was trying to smile around the sour pucker. It was an odd picture but strangely fitting for the man who was not quite a man.

“I'll be taking my leave, Hokage-sama,” Mumei said respectfully with a bow of his head. Before the Hokage could say anything in response, Mumei had disappeared in a Shunshin, leaving leaves all over the floor where he once stood.

The blond-haired man appeared in a tree not far from the Hokage's office. He closed his eyes and determined his next move.

He could go see his younger self or he could go straight for the action and kill Danzo. He still had plenty of time before the Uchiha no Jiken. He truly wanted to see Naruto, but there was a feeling in his gut that he would never be good enough. So, the newly minted Namikaze took off in search of his parents' compound.

Mumei unsealed the scroll given to him by his grandfather figure and pulled out a map with a big red X marked on it. His Jiji could certainly be subtle when he wanted to, but this was definitely not one of those times. He raced to the outskirts of Konoha and found nothing but an empty lot. There was a tall gate in front of the surprisingly well-manicured property with a seal matrix on the side.

He bit his finger for the nth time that day and placed his hand on the matrix. In a flash of a barrier dispelling, a mansion appeared. Apparently his mother had managed to take quite a few riches with her when she left Uzushiogakure and his father had managed to accrue quite the fortune going on high-level missions.

The palm of his hand met the cold metal gate and it swung open easily. Stepping inside, he closed the gate and saw another matrix on the inside. He placed his hand on this one too and the outside world disappeared. Instead, there was a beautiful mountain view. His parents must have created a visual barrier on the very outside of the property. Inside of that barrier appeared to be a sound and chakra barrier.

Mumei turned from the intricate barrier work and looked at the mansion in front of him. It was three stories tall with a bottom story of stone and two upper stories of wood. It was a traditional Japanese house, but on steroids. On the top story there was a lovely balcony that stretched around the side of the house facing a body of water. The house bordered on a small lake where there was a dock leading out a quarter of the way to the center. It was a beautiful house.

Glancing to the right of the building, he saw a new installment – a small version of the house in front of him, presumably meant to be his playhouse. It was a sweet gesture that told him how much he was loved before his parents were ripped away from him. For a moment he thought tears would well in his eyes, but it seemed that he had cried too many tears and he had finally run dry.

He walked up the stone path through a brilliant garden that was surprisingly not overgrown in the least. He did not know of any sealwork that could create a self-preserving garden so he assumed that Kakashi had been by, taking care of his sensei's legacy until Naruto came of age. Luckily, he supposed, the copy nin was in the hospital still so he did not have to worry about being disturbed.

Mumei stepped up to the double doors that marked the front entry and opened one, holding his breath. Then he stepped in. The front entrance was marvelous with busts of what he assumed to be his ancestors lining the right wall. To the left was a magnificent staircase that led to the second and third story. There was so much to explore and see, he could barely stand it. All this had been hidden from him; he never had a chance to see it.

He ran from room to room like a kid in a candy store. There was an enormous library, an armory, a sealing room, a kitchen, a dining room and a lovely little breakfast nook and that was all on the first floor!

Mumei found another door leading to a basement and descended the stairs. At the bottom was a state of the art training facility and the walls appeared to be chakra and force resistant, ensuring their stability in the face of jutsu. Several training dummies lined one wall and seemed to also bear some seals. He would have to investigate them thoroughly later.

With haste, he ascended to the first floor and then to the second. He investigated each room, finding several guest bedrooms and what appeared to be the master. In the bedroom adjacent to his parents' he found a soft baby blue room with a cradle in the center; a nursery. He froze at the door. This was for him. The toys in a colorful toy box, for him. A changing table, for him. A spinning overhead mobile of kunai and shuriken, for him. He was so loved before he was even born, it brought him to his knees.

This was all stolen from him. Ripped away as he had barely had one breath. Tobi. He would make sure that he never rose to power. He would ensure the destruction of the tailed beast hunters, the Akutsuki. He would turn them back into a peaceful organization. There was so much to do and so little time. At least he had his shadow clones to help him out.

Backing away from that perfect room, he climbed to the third story and found a little apartment. He assumed that it was for Kakashi as it was completely barren of the knickknacks that his mother seemed to be fond of. On a bedside table, there was a small family photograph, Kakashi on his father's shoulders and his mother looking at them affectionately. Not for the first time, he wondered what happened to the gray-haired man's mother. It was none of his business, but he wanted to know every detail about Kakashi, know the man so thoroughly and completely that it felt like they were one. It seemed selfish but he needed to be a little selfish every once in a while.

Mumei set about creating a space for young Naruto to live in one of the guest rooms. He unsealed a decent amount of money as he didn't know how much he would be spending. Leaving the house briefly, he visited a linen store in order to pick out toad-themed sheets and comforter. He also visited a hardware store and picked out several shades of green paint as well as orange, brown, silver, and black. A furniture store was he next stop and he picked out several lights and a desk that fit the theme.

Returning to the Namikaze household, he laid down some tarps in the chosen room and got to work. On the walls he painted a mural of cattails and a pond. The dresser was painted a light green and given dark green spots. He painted several orange shinobi toads with kunai on the walls after the mural had dried, obviously in a battle, kicking butt for Konoha. He placed the toad-themed lamps on the bedside tables and one on the desk that he had picked out.

He stepped back to admire his work. It was an atrocious mix of green and orange with toads absolutely everywhere. Naruto would love it.

Now he just had to get the boy and explain what the hell was going on. He had plenty of world saving to do, but he felt it was most important to rescue the young boy from the loneliness that consumed his life.

Just then, he felt a signature enter the bubble that encircled the house. He knew that signature all too well. Kakashi.

Mumei slipped out the front door and sent out a wave of chakra to locate the copy nin. He was sitting cross-legged in front of some sort of shrine. The other shinobi did not seem to notice Mumei's presence. Silently, Mumei stepped behind the gray-haired man and prepared himself for violence. “You're off your game, Kakashi, you should still be in the hospital.”

As he said this, the copy nin spun around, kunai in hand. “Who are you?” he growled.

“Namikaze Mumei,” came the response.

“Let me rephrase. Who the hell are you?”

“Namikaze Minato's brother.”

“Minato-sensei didn't have a brother. He would have told me,” Kakashi snarled, teeth bared.

“Maa, I guess his half-breed baby brother was a secret.”

Finally, Kakashi scented the air. Steel. Blood. Sunshine. It was him; the man from his hospital room.

“Why were you in my hospital room? How did you get into Konoha?”

“I told you, napping. I walked through the main gates, well ran.”

“How did you get in here? I'm the only one alive that the gate is coded to,” Kakashi questioned suspiciously.

“I guess nii-san cared a little bit after all because he apparently coded my DNA to the gate.”

“I'm calling ANBU,” he retorted before moving towards the main gate.

“Hokage-sama already knows I'm here. I'm a shinobi of Konoha,” Mumei called after him. This gave Kakashi pause. “I have the hitai-ate, ne?” Mumei wiggled around the metal engraved with the Konoha symbol in Kakashi's direction. He missed teasing him.

“I don't trust you, I'm still calling them,” Kakashi retorted.

“Very well. Call Rabbit first. She can attest. Call Hokage-sama while you're at it.”

Kakashi decided to call Rabbit first after all, just in case this stranger was telling the truth. He didn't want to get on the Hokage's bad side if it turned out this man actually was Minato-sensei's brother.

Rabbit appeared almost instantaneously, like she was waiting for something to go wrong. Kakashi started his questioning and she answered to the best of her ability. No, he was not an intruder. Yes, he was a Konoha shinobi. Yes, the paperwork has been filed. Yes, he is a Namikaze. Somewhat satisfied that Mumei wasn't there to assassinate anyone, he dismissed Rabbit.

“Are you here to take Naruto?” Kakashi probed.

“I am here to ensure his happiness and safety, whatever that may entail. Hokage-sama has given me permission to do what needs to be done.”

“You will not take him away from me,” he bristled.

“I will do what needs to be done. You've done a shit job of protecting him so far. His only friends are his plants and his Jiji, you know that, right? He had no-one. Now he has me.”

“I... he looks so much like his parents.”

“He is their precious legacy; he deserves so much more than what you have given him, how the village has treated him. I will ensure his happiness. How you are in his life is up to you.”

Kakashi lowered his head, knowing that he had lost another of his precious people. Stupid. Everyone always leaves. Everyone always dies. He's a bad luck charm. He didn't want to say it, but that's why he never took on the child. He did not want to cause his sensei's precious child's death like he had all the others in his life.

“I'm going to pick up Naruto,” Mumei commented, “it's up to you if you are still here when we return.” The blond-haired man meandered over to the gate before unlocking it with another swift bite to his finger. He exited and locked it from the outside once more. Internally he hoped that Kakashi was still there, but he knew that he wouldn't be. The other shinobi was still too isolated. No matter, he would fix that too.

A Shunshin later and he was standing outside Naruto's door. Slurs were written all over the door, calling him a monster, telling him to die. Rage boiled up inside the man. On the other side of the door, Naruto sensed the anger and dove into his closet, hiding among the clothes and boxes out of fear.

Mumei knocked gently on the door and received no answer. He could feel the fear radiating from the other side and easily picked the lock. Jumping to his left, he avoided a bucket of water that was rigged to the top of the door jamb. He smirked. That would catch any rowdy civilian off-guard.

“Naruto,” he called softly, “it's okay, I'm not here to hurt you. Hokage-sama sent me.”

The closet door rustled and Naruto peeked through the slots. The man didn't seem threatening. In fact, he looked a lot like him. If Jiji sent him, he must be okay. Slowly, the six-year-old stood and opened the door. The child was only 35 inches tall, a whole 7 inches shorter than the average for his age group. He appeared to also be quite underweight.

Mumei beckoned to the boy and crouched down to his level to appear more non-threatening. I brought you a present, he murmured, reaching into the pouch on his right thigh. He pulled out a toad plushie and held it out to the child. “His name is Gamakichi-kun and he says he's pleased to meet you,” he relayed.

Naruto giggled. “He's just a toy, he can't talk, dattebayo.”

“Aah but that's where you're wrong, my dear. If you listen close enough, he talks.”

In reality, Mumei had rigged up a two-way radio seal so that Naruto could communicate with Gamakichi, the young son of the toad chief. Neither the toad nor the boy knew that they were talking to an actual being, they just thought it was a clever toy and their imagination.

“Who are you, ojisan?”

“That's the thing, Naruto, I'm your ojisan. Your father's brother,” Mumei informed him with a smile.

Chapter Text

Naruto's jaw dropped.

Never before had he had someone claim to be his family member, so he was understandably shocked. Nobody had ever taken a claim on him in general. Not even in friendship.

The child who had known nothing but strife lit up in glee, running forward and wrapping the stranger in a hug. The four foot tall sunshine-haired boy buried his head in the man's stomach, his arms encircling him and squeezing as tight as he possibly could. Naruto had never been hugged by family before. Mumei brought his large hands down on the boy's head and back, giving him as much of a hug as he could muster.

Naruto refused to let go. The hug lasted much longer than Mumei had expected. In fact, this was probably the longest hug of his life. As far as he knew this could be the first hug that Naruto remembered, so he allowed it. The boy nuzzled into his jounin flak jacket, inhaling the scent he would now call family, home. Of course, his sense of smell was not quite as developed as per say Kakashi or himself since Naruto was not in communication with Kurama.

"Why didn't you come for me sooner," the boy mumbled into the vest.

"I didn't know about you, Naru-chan. My brother and I were not particularly close," he replied, running his hand through those blond locks so identical to his own.

"What does partic-particuary mean?"

"Particularly means not very. Not very close," Mumei explained. He couldn't remember when he had learned to read and write. It was something he had taught himself when the orphanage and school had failed to do so.

"Ojisan why did you come now?" the boy prodded further.

"I came looking for my brother and found out he had died, leaving you. I needed a purpose and now I have one," he replied with a gentle tug of the boy's sunshine locks.

Slowly, the boy released him and gazed up at the man as if he was about to disappear at any second, leaving him all alone yet again.

"You… won't leave me, right?" the boy asked with fear in his eyes.

"Only when I have to and not for long. I'll always come back," the man smiled soothingly.

Naruto beamed. "Ne, can we play ninja, ojisan?"

"Maa, don't call me ojisan, it makes me sound old," he pouted comically.

"Ok, Mu-nii-chan!"

"That's not-," he started to say but stopped when Naruto's grin started to waver, "alright, Mu-nii-chan it is," he finished with a sigh.

Mumei crouched down to Naruto's level. "How about I teach you to be a ninja instead?"

The boy's grin got even wider. "I'll be the best ninja! I'll be Hokage, dattebayo!" he shouted in glee.

The man ruffled that head of sunshine hair and smiled, "I know you will be."

Naruto's heart soared. This was the first time that someone actually believed in him. Tears welled up in his eyes and he surged forward, wrapping his arms around Mumei's neck.

Mumei fell backwards with the momentum, landing solidly on his rump, the boy in his grasp. They sat there for quite some time, the boy crying into the shoulder of his flak jacket, his tiny hands wrapped around the man's neck. Mumei rubbed soothing circles on the child's back but the affection only seemed to spur more tears. He was glad he got there when he did; that he had chosen to see Naruto before starting his one man mission to save the world.

Once Naruto had settled down and released him from his octopus grasp, Mumei took the boy's hands in his. "How would you like to come live with me in your parents' house?"

A teary smile and a nod was his answer.

"Come on, let's gather up your things and we can leave this apartment forever."

The boy jumped into action, gathering up small items. He had only a few clothes but piled them in the center of the room anyways. Next he moved his plants to sit in front of Mumei. Then came his precious Gama-chan and sleeping cap. Finally he took out a box from under his bed and placed it delicately in his uncle's hands. The man removed the lid and peered inside.

It was filled with small trinkets that he presumably found in the garbage when he was rooting around for food. Mumei's heart throbbed painfully with compassion for the child's situation and anger for the villagers that treated him this way. He grabbed the boy into another hug, placing the box on the ground. "You will want for nothing," he whispered into his hair.

Once the emotions had passed, he released the child and removed a scroll from a seal adjacent to the one with his sealing supplies. He sealed the boy's items inside the stasis seal quite quickly as he had few possessions.

"Where did it all go?" Naruto asked in wonder.

"It's called Fuuinjutsu. The Uzumaki clan and your father were famed for their abilities in this technique. I'll teach you."

Rolling up the scroll, he handed it to Naruto, as they were his belongings. The boy hugged the scroll to his chest, excited at the prospect of learning how perform such wonders.

Mumei took the boy into his arms once more and rose to stand. Naruto seemed amazed that he was finally being held in such a way. He had seen children held by their parents and family members before, but he did not have any memories of being held, of being in the arms of someone who loved him.

"We have to do a little shopping first, is that okay?" he asked the boy who now had a fearful look on his cherubic face.

"I won't let any of them hurt you," Mumei reassured the child.

"O-okay," the boy whispered.

With Naruto on his right hip, Mumei raised his left hand into the Shunshin handsign and the duo vanished in a whirl of leaves. The landlord could deal with cleaning out the apartment that he had let decay around the child.

They appeared on the main street outside the market where food vendors were lined up.

"I'm going to put you down now," the man informed him before setting the boy gently on the ground.

Just as he was placing the child on the road, he felt someone watching them. Kakashi. He knew that the man wouldn't let well enough alone. He was perched several rooftops away and had donned his Inu ANBU mask but Mumei could still sense that he was there, watching. Waiting.

Naruto clung to Mumei's side, afraid of the outside world and what his new uncle might think of him once he found out that he was a monster. The man ruffled the child's golden locks and took one tiny hand in his.

"Come now," he said with fake cheeriness, although it was only discernible to a very watchful eye; Kakashi's eye.

Mumei led Naruto into the market and stopped at a fruit stand. With the child's hand held firmly in his own, he used his other hand to inspect the produce. He could feel the anger directed at both him and his charge. His eyes flicked up and locked with the vendor's. The KI that he sent rushing towards the man knocked the hateful man on his ass.

Naruto, who was completely unaware of the exchange giggled before burying his head in his uncle's ANBU pants. He inhaled gently to reassure himself. Home.

Mumei sensed Kakashi's pleasure in the man getting his ass handed to him. He fought a visible smirk at the jounin's glee. For some reason, Jiji never allowed anyone to do anything about Naruto's mistreatment. It was unfair, because he deserved the world.

The vendor righted himself quickly under Mumei's calculating gaze. Those crystal blue eyes flicked over him, determining if he was a threat or not. The vendor had never felt so much like prey. In response to that icy glare, the man bowed his head and tried to look as nonthreatening as possible. If he were an animal, he would have been on his back with his neck bared.

After deciding on a pound of cherries and grapes, several ume and peaches and a container of blueberries, he reached into his pocket and shelled out the appropriate amount of yen. The vendor scrambled to put their purchases in a bag. He handed the brown paper bag over with a bow of his head, "thank you for your patronage."

This pattern of reaching a stand, glaring at a vendor, choosing food items and moving on continued. At the end of their food trip Mumei was carrying numerous paper bags in one hand and Naruto's tiny palm in the other. Each bag was filled with foodstuffs, from a variety of meats and fish to grains to vegetables, he had enough to feed the two of them for quite some time.

Outside the market he placed the bags on the ground and knelt down. He let go of the child's hand and unsealed another stasis scroll. Naruto quickly grabbed hold of his flak jacket, afraid of being left alone. Mumei hummed soothingly as he sealed the food into the scroll.

"Would you like to pick out some shinobi clothes?" he asked the six-year-old.

Naruto beamed, his apprehension instantly gone. Instead, he started bouncing up and down in excitement, his hand still grasping the green vest.

Sealing the scroll with the food back into his arm, Mumei reached for the small fist grasping his flak jacket, taking it in his own.

They took off walking in the direction of the shinobi surplus store run by the Higurashi family. The daughter, Tenten, was close to Naruto in age, only a year older. This was her first year enrolled in the Academy but she still worked in her parents' shop.

Arriving at the nondescript storefront, Naruto looked at his uncle in confusion. It didn't appear to be a shinobi store. "Look underneath the underneath," Mumei said before opening the door.

A burst of color appeared before their eyes. Mumei herded the child through the door and into the warm light of the store.

"Hello! Welcome!" came a call from the back.

Mumei led Naruto over to the juniors section and helped him look through the clothes that were available. There was a sea of blacks and blues but Naruto steered towards the brighter oranges.

"Naru, you have to be careful about color. It's hard to camouflage," Mumei warned.

"Hai, but I'm a master of camouflage! Nobody can see me, even in orange!" Naruto boasted.

Mumei chuckled, the child wasn't wrong, he was indeed very good at camouflage and stealth. He acquiesced, "Just not too much orange, ne?"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically before grabbing a burnt orange vest with large front pockets. Mumei sighed dramatically and picked out a midnight blue t-shirt that would go underneath the vest. Naruto smiled happily at his uncle's acceptance of his favorite color and picked out ANBU pants that matched his new idol's.

Next, he picked out some accessories. Black shinobi sandals made their way into the pile of clothing as well as tape to wrap the bottom of his new pants. Several pouches and more shinobi tape to bind them joined the heap. Shinobi gloves with non-reflective metal Konoha plates entered the mix. Finally, Naruto picked out some forearm protectors. The cloth was soft and breathable but several non-reflective metal plates were attached to the top. They looked almost identical to the ones that Mumei wore in memory of his Kakashi.

"We have weapons back at the house, so you don't have to worry about that," Mumei said instead of commenting on the forearm protectors.

The duo made their way over to the counter, mountain of clothes in tow. Mumei greeted Higurashi-san. The merchant carefully calculated the cost for 5 sets of clothing, one pair of forearm protectors, two pairs of sandals, two pairs of gloves, a significant amount of shinobi tape and the child-sized pouches. "165,000 Yen, sir," Higurashi informed the shinobi.

Naruto's face dropped and he clung to Mumei's side once again. That was so much! He hadn't seen that much money in his whole life. Mumei ruffled the child's spiky hair before digging into his pocket and shelling out the correct amount of Yen.

The clothing peddler packed up the clothes for the duo and Mumei again sealed them into another scroll. The blond-haired man picked up his companion and placed him on his hip once more and walked out of the store. Once they were safely outside, Mumei raised his left hand in a half tiger hand sign and they disappeared in a flutter of leaves.

Kakashi crouched, still watching, several buildings away. He assumed that Mumei could not detect him but he couldn't have been more wrong. He watched the two disappear in a Shunshin and decided that was enough skulking for the day. Nothing bad had happened so far, in fact the man treated Naruto with nothing but compassion and kindness. Sighing, he retreated to his jounin apartment.

Mumei and Naruto appeared outside the gate to the empty lot and Naruto looked at his uncle in confusion. There was supposed to be a house here. The shinobi raised his left hand, bit into a finger and Naruto flinched from the smell of blood. Mumei whispered soothing nothings to the child as he placed his hand on the seal complex.

The barriers released with a whoosh and the duo stepped inside the rod iron gate. Mumei placed his hand on the locking mechanism and turned to face the mansion. Naruto looked at it in shock. "This… was my parents'?"

"Yes, and now it's yours."

Naruto wiggled where he was seated on his uncle's hip, ready to run about the gardens and meadow that surrounded the house. Mumei set the child down and he immediately bounded off, scroll and Gamakichi-kun plushie held tightly in his grasp.

Mumei chuckled and went inside the mansion in order to put away the groceries and prepare dinner. Humming while he worked, he boiled the water for ramen and got to work preparing a side of vegetables and fruit. Once the water was ready, he added the ramen noodles and prepared the pork. Next he put together the miso and seasoning that the soup would require and strained the noodles out. Mumei poured all his ingredients together and placed the cooked pork and several narutos on top of the ramen.

Once dinner was prepared, Mumei went outside to call Naruto in. The child seemed to be playing with shinobi with Gamakichi-kun, pretending that the plushie was his loyal summon. It wasn't far off from the truth and Mumei smiled at the prospect.

"Naruto, dinner!" he summoned the child.

Naruto's ears perked up, never having been called in for dinner before. This was a day of many firsts for the boy. Dusting off his shorts, Naruto sprinted for the mansion that he had not yet been inside. Slipping off his shoes, he smiled handsomely up at Mumei and then opened the door together.

Naruto stared in awe. It was gorgeous. Mumei took him by the hand and led him through the kitchen into the breakfast nook area. It was a smaller dining space and was generally more intimate. The dining room seated up to ten people and would feel lonesome with only two there to enjoy the meal.

With Naruto sat at the table, Mumei brought over the ramen for the both of them, first. Then, he went back for the side of veggies and fruit. Naruto looked at the ramen with glee but pouted when the vegetables came out. The vegetables he had before always tasted gross because they were old and moldy.

"Itadakimasu!" both boys shouted before digging into the ramen.

Both Naruto and Mumei shoveled the noodles into their faces like they were starving. Mumei alternated between pork and noodles while Naruto finished his pork at the end. Both Namikaze slurped the remaining Miso and placed the bowl down simultaneously.

The two shared a smile before Mumei dug into the vegetables and fruit salad.

"You have to eat your fruits and veggies before you can have seconds," he bribed.

Naruto huffed an overdramatic sigh and reached out his chopsticks to take a piece of fruit. It was delicious. Fruit had always been too expensive for him so he stuck to his instant ramen. This was phenomenal. The juices were like fireworks of taste in his mouth. He chewed hastily and swallowed, grabbing for another piece.

"Don't choke," Mumei laughed.

Good quality fruits and vegetables were not something that young Naruto had the luxury of. This was a special treat. Mumei was dedicated to making sure that the young child grew to his full height and remained at a healthy weight. To be an exceptional shinobi, you had to have an exceptional diet.

Naruto shoved piece after piece of fruit into his mouth until it was all gone and he smiled guiltily at his older companion. Eyeing a vegetable like it was going to bite him, he carefully picked up a piece and deposited it in his mouth. It wasn't as good as the fruit but it was actually tasty. Naruto gobbled up the remaining vegetables and held out his ramen bowl expectantly.

Mumei chuckled and returned with seconds for the two of them. Again, they devoured the ramen. They continued emptying their bowls until there was no ramen remaining.

"Thank you for the meal!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Would you like to see your room?" Mumei returned.

Naruto looked at him with glee for certainly not the first time that day. "Yes, please!"

Mumei stood and Naruto shot out of his seat like a rocket. The man walked through the kitchen and to the stairs and gestured for Naruto to go up first. The boy sprinted up the stairs, quickly looking in each room. Before Mumei could warn him not to look in the bedroom next to the master, the door was flung open.

Naruto stared into the baby blue room in silence. Mumei ran up the stairs and stopped behind the child.

"They… really did love me," the boy whispered, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Of course they did, you were their precious gift," Mumei responded.

"I thought they abandoned me because they hated me, just like everyone else in the village," he sobbed.

Mumei crouched down and enveloped the child in a bear hug. "They loved you with everything they had. They died protecting you."

Naruto cried even harder for what he had lost. He had nothing for so long, no-one to call family. To think that he had this wonderful family that had been ripped away from him this entire time was incredibly frustrating. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" he sobbed.

"I don't know, Naruto, I don't know," Mumei soothed, rocking the child in his arms.

Eventually, the child fell asleep, tears still in his eyes. Mumei's heart hurt. Naruto's hands clutched his flak jacket, even in his sleep. Taking the child cradled in his arms, Mumei walked to the master bedroom and laid down with the boy on the king-sized bed. Naruto nuzzled his sunshine head into the man's chest.

Mumei sighed in partial comfort and fell asleep.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: The Training Begins

As Mumei slowly returned to consciousness, his eyes darted around the still light room ensuring his and the child's safety. No shadows yet laced the furniture like dark doilies. Looking downward, all he saw were big blue eyes staring up at him in wonder. The boy reached out with one hand and poked him quickly in the cheek.

“What was that for?” Mumei chuckled. 

“I wanted to make sure you're real,” he whispered.

Mumei smiled gently. “I'm not going anywhere, Taiyou-chan,” he said affectionately.

Naruto giggled happily; he had never received a nickname that wasn’t monster before. He really loved his uncle and he barely even knew him. 

“Ne, what was my father like, Mu-nii-chan?” the boy snuggled deeper into the shinobi's flak jacket as if it were a mountain of blankets.

“Let's see... he was brave and strong. He was the kindest and goofiest man I've ever met. He loved you and your mother very, very much.”

Naruto looked at the man in fascination. “What was his name?” 

“Namikaze Minato.”

“And my mother's?” he added.

“Uzumaki Kushina.”

The child took a minute to ponder these names. They sounded kind of familiar but his six-year-old knowledge only extended to the current Hokage. He had yet to learn about the previous Hokages and how they died. At least this way Mumei could break the news of his heritage and status as a jinchuuriki gently.

That reminded him. Mumei partially entered his mindscape and tugged on the red string connecting him and Kurama. Kurama, he called with another tug.

What do you want, meat sack? the beast's glowing ember eyes appeared in the darkness and loomed above the man.

How does this work? You inside me and the other Kyuubi inside Naruto? Are you separate entities or do you share the same chakra?

I'll explain this simply so even your dullard brain can handle it. Somehow you managed to end up with the Yin portion of my chakra while Naruto has my Yang portion. 

Mumei considered this. The Yin portion of Kurama's chakra must have reformed at some point. It made sense that it would reform after the war that decimated so many lives. Or maybe the Shinigami simply ran out of room with all those deaths, and kicked Yin Kurama out. Either way, it appeared that Yang Kurama had sacrificed his life in order for Mumei to go back in time. The damn Kyuubi pretended that he didn't care, but Naruto had always been his priority. 

That explained why Yin was so hostile as Yin had been in the beginning. That made him wonder... 

He reached out for the green string that led in the opposite direction, twisting through the trees of the meadow and down into the ground. It led to a sewer and weaved through the tunnels with ease. Hesitantly, Mumei gave it a tug. Kurama? he called into the open air as if he were talking to a person that wasn't actually there.

A grumbling sound rumbled out of the darkness and up through the ground, shaking it like an earthquake. Trees quivered where they stood, shedding green leaves upon the dewy ground.

Where have you been, my child? I've been waiting for you, the voice rasped as if it had not spoken in centuries. 

Kurama! Mumei shouted in excitement. I thought you died!

I did. My memories came back with you but the me that you knew is dead.

Mumei took a moment to grieve but the loss did not leave him feeling empty like the others had. Maybe it was because his life-long companion seemed to be right in front of him or maybe it was because he had nothing left of himself to give up. Either way, he was pleased that his friend had his full set of memories. He wasn't alone in this world!

Suddenly the world around him began to shake violently, not like the earlier rumbling earthquake, but a world-shaking, earth-cracking moan that came from the ground. His eyes snapped open. 

In front of him was a concerned little boy with bright cerulean eyes and a questioning look on his face. “Are you okay, Mu-nii-chan?” he asked, worried about his new-found family member. 

“Sorry, Taiyou-chan. I got a little lost on the road of life,” he mumbled, instinctively quoting his favorite copy nin. 

The child looked even more confused now but ignored it. In fact, he looked a little abashed as he asked, “Can I see my room now?” with a glance downward. 

“Of course!” Lifting the child off of his chest, he used his abdominal muscles to pull him into a kneeling position. With his hands firmly under the boy's armpits, he spun him in a circle before placing him on the ground. The boy sprinted off in search of his room and quickly found it by his name colorfully painted in orange on the door. 

Pressing his palm against the knob, he twisted it hard in excitement and shoved the door open. The wonderland in front of him made him squeal in excitement before diving into a pile of stuffed animals. Never before had he seen such a beautiful room and it was all his!

Somersaulting out of the mountain of plushies, he launched into Mumei who had followed faithfully behind the child to check out his reaction. Naruto wrapped his skinny arms around the man’s waist and weeped tears of joy. Mouth buried fully in the flak jacket, he mumbled out a quiet “Thank you,” before burrowing deeper into the confines of the man’s vest, his hold tightening.

Mumei’s heart thudded in his chest, overfilled with joy. So many emotions rushed through his head. Should he be feeling like this? Did he have a right to feel anything at all when everyone he loved was dead in the future? It had been a long time since he had felt anything but anger and grief. This outpouring of positive emotions felt brand new, like nothing he had felt in his entire life.

A tug on his flak jacket pulled him out of his reverie. “Nii-chan, can we train now?” the boy hopped up and down in his excitement at the prospect. 

“Eager aren’t we? You haven’t even put your stuff away!” he chuckled.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Naruto shouted enthusiastically before shoving the scroll with his belongings into Mumei’s hand. The man considered having Naruto do it, but the child did not yet have the chakra control to channel only a little bit into the seal. Instead of the contents appearing, the scroll would poof a burst of smoke and the items sealed within it would be gone forever.

The shinobi placed the scroll on the floor and inserted a minute amount of chakra into the center of the matrix. Out popped all of Naruto’s belongings and the boy scrambled to find homes for every item. The box of items that he had collected the placed under the bed. As Naruto went about putting his clothes and knickknacks away, Mumei tapped a storage seal on his forearm and removed the scroll with Naruto’s ninja clothes. 

This scroll too he rolled out on the ground. Again, chakra was added and the mountain of rumpled clothes appeared. Naruto shouted in excitement and took out one set of clothes and put the rest away. He raced into the bathroom with the items piled in his arms and barely closed the door before he shucked off his old dirty clothes.

First, Naruto pulled on his new black ANBU pants and secured them around his waist with the drawstring he found on the waistband. These pants were meant to accommodate a growing child, although they would have to visit the Ninja Store quite a few more times in the future to ensure Naruto’s comfort in his clothing. Pulling out some white tape, he secured the pant legs from his calves down to his ankles. Next, the boy pulled on the blue skin-tight t-shirt that Mumei had picked out for him. The fabric would stretch and allow for excellent movement without getting in the way. Then he donned his burnt orange vest that reminded him a bit of his nii-san’s flak jacket. The vest seemed to warm him from the inside out and he beamed at himself in the mirror. Next Naruto picked up his black sandals and quickly shoved his feet in, checking to see if they pinched and then hurrying onto the next item. Grabbing more tape, he taped around the middle of his right thigh. He quickly located one of the child-sized shinobi pouches and fastened it to his leg. Picking up the remaining two pouches, he added them to the back of his pants so that they were easily accessible. Only a few items remained now. He then grasped the forearm protectors and slid them on over his arms; they were a perfect fit. Finally, he picked up the fingerless black gloves with the Konoha emblem emblazoned on the back and slipped them onto his small hands.

The child looked at himself in the full-length mirror on the door and squealed in excitement. He turned the knob quickly and bolted out to show off his new look to his uncle.

Mumei gave the bouncing sunshine locks an affectionate gentle tug and gestured towards the stairs. Naruto bounded ahead of him and down the stairs. He followed behind at a steady pace, wondering where they would start. The boy was only six, after all. He would start him out on a basic training regimen, target practice in the morning followed by physical exercises including running and taijutsu. After lunch, he would start up with chakra exercises and then fuuinjutsu practice. Mumei decided that Naruto was still a little young for ninjutsu but certainly not for henge, kawarimi and bunshin. After the boy gained more chakra control they would start on those, finally culminating in the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu as well as Nature type Jutsus. 

One day the child would be able to use every nature type as well as several kekkai genkai but until then they would work only on his natural affinities. There was so much to teach the child and he was doing so from scratch. He would shape Naruto into a fine ninja. He himself hadn’t turned out poorly but this Naruto could reach even further with proper instruction from a young age. Even if the Fourth Great Shinobi War happened, this boy could stop it all with ease. Nobody would die in vain. Mumei was determined. Naruto would be the strongest ninja to exist and would unite the world in peace, dattebayo! 

Aah he got over excited in his thoughts and his verbal tic came out. He would have to be careful not to actually say the word. That would indicate a direct relation to Kushina and be quite hard to explain.

While deep in his thoughts Mumei had managed to guide Naruto down to the basement and into the armoury. On the wall to the right were blunt weapons including bo staffs, nunchucks and battle fans. On the front wall were a variety of katanas, tantos and ninjatos. To the left were throwing weapons in bins labeled kunai, senbon and shuriken. On the wall above the bins hung large fuma shuriken and Minato’s three-bladed kunai, tags all intact.

Naruto’s face lit up like a kid in a candy store. He bounded over to the swords and looked at them in awe. Mumei summoned the boy over to the throwing weapons and began to explain what each one did and their proper upkeep.

“Kunai are for thrusting and stabbing. They are not designed to be throwing weapons but can be used for such maneuvers.” He picked up a blunted kunai and handed it to the lad. “Even blunt weapons should be treated like they are the real deal,” he warned.

Naruto gripped the kunai strongly with one hand by the handle. It was heavier than he had imagined. Mumei continued, “By attaching a kibaku fuda to the kunai, you can create a kibaku kunai, making it much more dangerous as a  thrown weapon.”

Mumei moved onto the shuriken, picking up another blunted weapon and spun it around his index finger. “Shuriken are actually designed to be thrown; with enough accuracy you can maim or kill your target so they are not to be played with. They are best for distracting or pinning down an enemy.” He passed the shuriken to his young charge and moved on to the next bin that contained spools of ninja wire.

“Ninja wire is useful for a number of techniques in which you manipulate other weapons such as kunai or shuriken. It can also be used to build traps and entangle or bind enemies. It is highly durable and very difficult to snap,” he lectured, placing the spool back in the bin. “With the addition of chakra, it can slice through flesh and bone. 

Mumei paused in his lecture, coming to the realization that Naruto probably didn’t know what chakra was. He recalled a time in his youth when he didn’t even know how to say chakra correctly. Working with Naruto this young really was creating a shinobi from scratch. 

“Taiyou-chan, do you know what chakra is?” 

“It has to do with being a ninja, right?” the boy tried. 

“Yes, it is the energy that connects us all. By combining physical energy and spiritual energy, we can weaponize chakra in the form of jutsus as well as condense it into a physical form,” Mumei tried to explain. The child furrowed his brow trying to take in the information as best he could. 

Naruto was best at learning through doing but there were basic things that every shinobi needed to know that were best taught by books. Mumei would have to work on turning the boy into a book person. It shouldn’t be too hard, the reason that he hated books as a child was because he could never understand them. The kanji seemed complex and some symbols looked too similar. Scratch fuuinjutsu training for now, he would just have to teach his charge how to read and write.

 “Naru, do you know how to read and write?” he asked gently, already knowing the answer.

The boy blushed and looked towards the ground. “Only signs and kids books,” he replied shyly, sure that he was about to be scolded.

“You taught yourself that much? I’m lucky to have such a smart nephew,” he beamed at the child. Naruto looked up from where he was gently toeing the ground in surprise and returned the smile. He… wasn’t dumb? Not some stupid monster that could only grasp basic thought? 

“Will you teach me?” the boy shouted in his excitement, launching his small body into his uncle’s side. 

“But of course! What else are uncles for?” With one hand tangled in Naruto’s spiky gold locks and the other in his own, his fingers massaged both scalps, the former in affection and the latter in abashed glee.

The day had drawn on and it was approaching dinner time. The reading and writing lessons would start tonight after he prepared dinner. 

“Would you like to help me put together some dinner, Taiyou-chan?” he asked with a gentle pull of sunshine hair.

“Yes!” the boy exclaimed, rocking back and forth on his heels.

 “Hmmm, what meat tonight?” 

“Pork! Pork!” 

Mumei chuckled in response, “Pork it is.”

The blond man and child walked up the stairs from the basement side-by-side; it was a deceiving picture of father and son. What a mess their real relationship was. Child and his future-self masquerading as his uncle.

Mumei removed all the ingredients from the cupboards and refrigerator with ease and went about preparing a typical dinner.

“Naru, will you boil some water for 2 cups of gohan?” he instructed. 

“Okay!” the boy replied cheerily and searched for a medium-sized pot. Once he found one suitable he realized that he didn’t know exactly how much water to add. Because of his diet of instant ramen, he had never had to boil gohan before. “How much water?” he asked shyly, the opposite of his previous enthusiasm.

“2 cups of water to each cup of gohan, so how many cups of water is 2 cups of gohan?” Mumei replied with another question. He was unsure how much math the child knew and decided this was the best way to determine his basic math skills.

“Um…” the boy paused to ponder the puzzle. 2 + 2. If there were two cups of gohan and you added two more, that made… “4!” he shouted proudly. 

“Well done!” Mumei praised. 

Naruto took his pot and a measuring cup and filled it up to the little 4 cups mark. He carefully carried the filled pot over to the stove and tried to turn the burner on. It clicked signalling that gas was escaping but no spark came. Naruto frowned at the conundrum. In such a nice house it would make sense for the burners to fully work; it was nothing like his run-down apartment with its broken stove. 

Noticing Naruto’s silence, Mumei glanced over to the child who was staring at the burner in confusion. A smirk came over his face. Striking his index finger with his thumb, a small fire ignited. He brought the pointer finger over to the burner and let it ignite the gas that was leaking into the open air. Naruto startled and looked at his uncle in amazement.

 “Will you teach me to do that?!” he exclaimed.

“In due time,” Mumei answered with a wink.

“What’s next?” Naruto asked with a pout. 

“You can take out the tsukemono from the jar,” he patted the child’s head before turning back to his own work with the pork. Mumei took each piece that he had just cut and placed it in an already heated skillet with olive oil. The pork sizzled happily in the heat. Each piece was thinly cut so it did not take long to cook through. He flipped the pieces and watched them carefully until they were perfectly done. With his chopsticks, he maneuvered the pork pieces onto a plate and placed it into the toaster oven to keep warm. 

Naruto had arranged the tsukemono on a plate and showed his uncle proudly. Mumei ruffled his hair in acknowledgement and asked the boy to put the rice in the boiling pot. The boy picked up the rice and measured out two cups with ease. He planted one palm on the handle to keep the pot steady while he poured the rice in. While he was turning away to place the measuring cup back on the counter, his hand pulled the pot towards him. It slid down the burner and boiling water splashed out of the pot and hurtled straight for Naruto, its target barely aware of the danger.

Mumei’s hand shot out as soon as he saw the danger out of the corner of his eye. The water hit his chakra-enhanced palm and with the help of some chakra control, became a ball of floating water.

Naruto squeaked in surprise at the swift motion and shoved the pot back onto the burner and dropped to the floor with his hands over his head. The child rocked back and forth and shouted quick bursts of “I’m sorry!”

The time traveler dropped the orb of water and gohan back into the pot and put the cover on it. He crouched down next to the balled-up child, not touching him. He was familiar with trauma and it wouldn’t help to put a hand on the boy, friendly or not. 

“Shhh it’s okay, see?” he reassured, holding out his left hand for inspection. The child opened one eye and peeked through his arms to see if the adult was actually telling the truth. Seeing that he was unscathed, the child pushed into his uncle’s arms.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think you were gonna hit me,” he rushed out.

“It’s alright to be scared, shinobi get scared all the time,” Mumei consoled.

“Really?” the boy asked with wide eyes. 

“Yep, but they have precious people to protect, so they push through it and do what they have to do.”

“Thank you,” Naruto murmured into Mumei’s neck. The man simply rubbed soothing circles on the child’s back in response. Wrapping his arms around Naruto’s waist, he picked him up with ease and sat him on his left hip.

“Let’s set that timer for the rice for 20 minutes and have a working dinner.”

With his right hand, he picked up a little egg timer and handed it to Naruto who set it for the appropriate amount of time and handed it back to his uncle. Mumei placed it back on the counter and carried the boy to the breakfast nook. They each took a place on either side of the table and Mumei unsealed some Genkouyoushi writing paper, a brush and ink. 

“Do know hiragana and katakana?” he questioned wondering if Naruto had managed to teach himself the very basics.

“Yes, and some kanji,” the boy responded reservedly, still somewhat afraid after the water incident. 

“Okay, let’s start with the kanji for numbers. Write 1-10,” he instructed, pushing the paper over to Naruto.

The child wrote each kanji easily, like he had practiced them a few hundred times. In fact, the child went on to write 1-100 with practiced ease. Mumei smiled fondly at Naruto. He tried so hard to fit in with the other children his age, going as far as to drill kanji into his head.

Mumei listed off several other words including up, down, left, and right and the egg timer went off. He went over to check on the gohan and prepare dinner for the two of them. As Naruto worked hard on his writing, Mumei placed the gohan into two bowls and brought them to the table followed by bowls of miso shiru and small plates of tsukemono and pork. 

“Itadakimasu!” They both said before setting into their food. As if he were running late, Mumei shoved all his meal quickly into his mouth. While he quickly chowed down he created a list of kanji next to which were their hiragana equivalent so Naruto would know what the word he was copying was. He set the list in front of the child and told him to move onto that list when he was finished with the other kanji. The boy nodded his assent and moved between eating and working.

“I’m going to the library, I’ll be right back,” Mumei informed Naruto. The boy barely looked up, his concentration fully on the work in front of him. A small smile found its way onto the time traveler’s face. The child’s brow was furrowed and nose scrunched the tiniest bit. He was so dedicated to his work, he knew that Naruto would become quite the little reader with this tenacity.

During his walk from the kitchen to the library, Mumei realized that he didn’t think of Naruto as himself anymore. He and the boy were two completely different people. In fact, he kinda felt fatherly towards the child. Mumei shook that thought from his head. The child already had a father; a father who was dead.

Rounding the corner to the library, he set about searching for the children’s books that he knew that Minato and Kushina had stored there. Their adoration for their son almost guaranteed a newly created children’s section. The library spanned two floors and even had its own staircase. Mumei had yet to fully explore it but he knew the general layout consisted of jutsu on the second floor and other general subjects and pleasure reading on the first floor.

Scanning the first level, Mumei eventually found the newest section of the library. He traced a finger over the titles and found a book on how to learn kanji. Damn they were good parents; he could never compare. He booted the self-deprecating thoughts out of his mind and went back to selecting books for Naruto. He picked out several children’s storybooks as well as several more advanced kanji books for later.

Moving over to the general reading section he found a basic book on chakra and decided that Naruto could use some general reading. This book was a little advanced for his current knowledge of kanji but he could use the practice. Any characters that he didn’t understand could easily be looked up or asked about.

He padded back back down the hallway and into the kitchen. Naruto was still hard at work and squinting at what seemed to be an unfamiliar character. Seeing that his uncle had returned, the child gestured for him to come back and give him some help. 

Mumei ventured over to the table to see Naruto’s pointer finger jabbing a character.

“This one looks like thousand but it says that it’s dry,” the boy stated exasperatedly.

He settled into his seat and drew the two characters on a fresh piece of paper. 

“Thousand’s top line is a slash to the left; the brush is lifted at the end. Dry is a stop to the right; you stop the brush completely and move on to the next stroke,” he informed the bewildered boy. 

“But they look the same!” he groaned. 

Mumei chuckled and agreed, “There are quite a few kanji that look the same but aren’t the same.”

“Noooo!” Naruto slid out of his seat and onto his knees on the floor, over exaggerating his frustration with the written language.

“I brought you some presents,” he gestured to the books with a wink.

“I thought you were gonna teach me to be a shinobi not how to be a civilian,” Naruto complained with a pout.

“Reading is very important to a shinobi. What if you got lost on your way to Suna and ended up in Kiri? If you can’t read you wouldn’t know!” 

“One has sand. One has water,” Naruto stated, deadpan.

Mumei sweatdropped and slapped his forehead with his palm. Who made this kid such a smartass? 

“Fine, how can you learn cool new ninjutsu if you can’t read?” 

“Fine,” the boy sighed theatrically.   

Mumei pushed the kanji workbook towards the child. “Now you have homework!” he said cheerily.

“Why, Kami-sama?” the boy cried to the heavens above.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: The Sensei

Over the next week, Naruto progressed rapidly through his kanji studies. The duo spent all their time going back and forth between reading and writing and ninja arts.

Essentially, Naruto spent all of his time writing characters, reading children’s books and trying to stick a leaf to different parts of his body. To say the least, Mumei was bored. He wasn’t bored of spending time with Naruto; no, he was bored of meditating all day. Bugging Kurama was one thing but this Yin version of the tailed-fox was booooring. Instead of talking to or insulting Mumei, the tailed beast would simply ignore him when he was annoyed.

Here Mumei was attempting to reform his bond with his sealed Kyuubi but the beast wanted nothing to do with him! It was simply rude! Huffing, Mumei stood from his seat in the outside training field and cracked his back.

“Naruto~ I’m going to find some fun books for us to read,” Mumei said mostly joking. He was actually going to find something for himself to read, maybe some new jutsus, but teasing the boy was too much fun.

“Noooo!” the boy jumped up from his sleeping position in response. The lad had managed to fall asleep while doing a handstand and ended up napping with his body resting up against a tree.

Just as Mumei opened his mouth to respond, a loud comical ‘moshi moshi’ rang through the compound. The time traveler sweatdropped and bounded to the front gate.

“Study, Naruto,” he called over his shoulder. The child had gotten to his feet and begun to chase after his uncle to see who was at the door. Hearing this command, the boy took a purposeful faceplant and rolled around in the grass. But he didn’t want to study.

Having reached the gate, Mumei bit his finger, placed it on the seal matrix and opened the barriers. As the barriers whooshed away, an ANBU was revealed.

“Rabbit-chan!” Mumei remarked excitedly.

“Namikaze-san. Hokage-sama has called for you,” she replied in an even tone.

Mumei narrowed his eyes slightly. What did the Third want now? Did he plan on taking Naruto away from him now? He wouldn’t allow that.

With a one-handed tiger seal, Mumei left a shadow clone to watch over Naruto and ensure that the boy actually got some work done. The man exited the gate and placed his bloody hand on the matrix on the outside of the complex, allowing the barriers to go up once again. He nodded to Rabbit to announce his compliance and the ANBU poofed out of sight in a Shunshin. Mumei followed with his own leafy Shunshin.

With a poof, Mumei appeared in the Hokage’s office with one knee bent and his head bowed. A spike of surprised chakra to his left caught his attention. Kakashi. Hmmm, he really wondered what this was about.

“Rise,” the Third commanded of him.

Mumei rose to his feet and glanced towards where he knew Kakashi to be standing. The man was in his Inu mask so no emotions could be gleaned from his single visible eye. Instead, his gaze wandered to the way the man stood. Normally Kakashi stood straight at attention but his back was slightly over-extended, like he had taken in a breath and had yet to let it back out. His fingers twitched in anticipation, to stab him in the throat with a kunai or wring his neck, he didn’t know. Mumei had always been able to read Kakashi like a book. Ever movement, every muscle twitch told a story that could never match Icha Icha.

“Kakashi-kun, I take it you’ve met Mumei-kun?” the Hokage addressed the grey-haired man.

Kakashi tensed at the mention of his name. And now this stranger knew his ANBU identity. It made his skin crawl.

“Hai, Hokage-sama,” the 19-year-old responded stiffly.

“Excellent. You can remove your mask; you won’t need it anymore,” he said pleasantly as if inviting an old friend to dinner, not firing one of his ANBU captains. “You will now be of service to Mumei-kun. You are dismissed.”

Mumei raised his eyebrows in surprise. This was an interesting turn of events.

Kakashi thought his heart was going to stop beating. He was… fired and now ‘of service’ to this strange man, whatever that meant. Ugh it sounded so sketchy, but one thing Kakashi didn’t do was question orders, so he disappeared in a shunshin and allowed the two to talk.

“Kakashi has been taking unnecessary risks as an ANBU captain,” the Hokage informed Mumei. “This started when you arrived so I believe that he has taken some kind of issue to your presence. You will take him under your wing. I entrust his safety and well-being to you.”

Mumei was taken aback. What the hell did that mean? Was this some kind of weird teacher-student relationship? Was he Kakashi’s master or some shit now? Um hell to the no.

“Hokage-sama…” he started before the Third cut him off.

“I don’t care what you tell him, I just can’t let that idiot go on any more missions. He’s going to get himself killed. I’m going to set him up as a jounin sensei as soon as the next class graduates in a month. He might die before then if he keeps going on missions.”

Mumei sighed. If he put it that way he didn’t have a choice in the matter. Bakashi was going to get himself killed if he said no.

“Hai,” he acquiesced.

“You are dismissed.”

He disappeared in a swirl of leaves and appeared next to Kakashi who had stationed himself several buildings away.

“You got me fired ,” the copy nin snarled.

“No, Bakashi, you got yourself fired,” Mumei sing songed. “You can’t keep going on missions with the intention to kill yourself. People take notice.”

Mumei kicked himself. His appearance here had almost killed Kakashi. He was so thankful that the Third noticed what was going on. He barely survived Kakashi dying once. His face flashed briefly with grief; he had always struggled to constrain his emotions.

Kakashi noticed. What was that grief for? he thought. It couldn’t have been for him, this stranger didn’t know him from Sato Yuki*. God he hated this guy. He made him feel guilty for going on suicide missions. Him! Guilty! Ugh. What was he grieving about? A loved one that… oh. Minato-sensei technically killed himself to save the village. Now he felt bad for being inconsiderate even in his thoughts. He really hated this guy. How dare he make him feel human?

“So, are we going?” Kakashi complained.

“I have some errands to run. You can come with me or go back to your apartment and pack.”

“What?” he asked, shocked. Did this idiot expect him to move back into the Namikaze compound? That means he found his little apartment. This was so embarrassing. Kakashi was never so thankful that his mask covered most of his face because his blush was getting brighter and brighter.

“You’re moving in with myself and Naruto,” Mumei said with delight. “What do you want for dinner tonight?”

“Hn,” the Hatake grumbled before disappearing in a shunshin to gather his belongings.

Mumei swooned. He never got to experience Kakashi at this young of an age. He was so moody and broody like Sasuke still. He kind of loved it. Humming, the time traveler took off to run his errands. The first stop was a clothing store. He needed some pajamas since Kakashi was going to be staying in the compound. He had taken to sleeping in just boxers but that wouldn’t do anymore. He needed something more covering. Every look the copy nin gave him made him feel naked and the closer to actual nudity he was the worse off he would be.

Stepping into the clothing store, the owner greeted him kindly. He flipped through some appropriately sized pants and shirts with little interest. Over to the side he noticed some onesies. They looked ridiculously funny so he decided to browse through them. There was a pig, a deer, a sloth, a giraffe, a panda, a koala and… a wolf. It’s limp furry head called to him. The fur-like fabric was silky soft to the touch. He pushed the head back and checked the tag. Shivers ran down his spine. It was the last one and just his size. It was meant to be.

He grabbed the wolf onesie off the rack and didn’t even bother trying it on. It felt so right in his palms. Just as he was about to check out, something caught his attention. It was a tiny fox onesie over in the children’s section. He sidestepped through the smaller aisles and picked up the vibrant orange cloth. It was perfect. What a wonderful visit.

Back over at the cash register, Mumei paid for his purchases. It was quite a bit more than he had intended to spend but he didn’t really care because these items were definitely worth it. He hummed away as he left the store and went to the market yet again to pick up the ingredients he would need for Kakashi’s favorite meal. It was a good thing he had inside knowledge on the man so he could get him things he enjoyed.

With a quick shunshin he appeared outside the gates to the compound. He was so thankful for the shunshin. What would he do without it? Walk? Ugh no thanks.

Kakashi stood next to the gate matrix, leaned against the wall all suave and cool with one foot pressed against the vertical surface. He gestured with one hand towards the matrix.

“Go ahead,” Mumei said, also gesturing at the matrix.

“You didn’t recalculate it?” Kakashi asked, puzzled.

“No, he trusted you, why wouldn’t I?” he replied cheerily.

Kakashi eyed the man suspiciously, pushed off the wall and bit a finger, placing it on the matrix. The barrier disappeared and the gate swung open with an easy push.  Mumei winked at his quizzical look and skipped through the gate.

“Naru~,” he called lovingly.

The boy raced around the side of the house at the call of his name. Mumei’s shadow clone dispersed at the sound as well. The burst of memories hit him. Naruto was making such great progress; he was now reading and writing at a 7-year-old level and had managed to stick 5 leaves on his body at once. He was so proud of the little tyke.

The child barreled into his uncle’s side, giving him a tight hug.

“I missed you,” Naruto informed him.

“I left a shadow clone with you,” the man replied amusedly.

“I missed you ,” the boy insisted.

Glancing at the new stranger, Naruto slinked behind Mumei, unsure of who this new man was. He didn’t like new people; they tended to hate him.

Kakashi looked at the child apprehensively. He did not seem to like him very much. He didn’t blame him.

“Naru, say hi, this is Kakashi. He was your father’s student,” Mumei patted Naruto’s sunshine locks with his free hand, the other occupied with bags.

Naruto bounded around from his hiding place behind his uncle and tugged on the copy nin’s sleeve. “You knew my dad?” the boy asked excitedly.

“Hai, Minato-sensei took me in after my father died,” Kakashi replied to the child simply.

Kakashi was perplexed. A couple words from this strange man and suddenly the apprehensive boy was full of energy and excitement. The child trusted his uncle an awful lot for someone who had been so abused his entire life. Speaking of which, the Namikaze had this odd smile stuck on his face. It was partially fake, slung on to cover up true emotions. The guy sucked at hiding, though. It was clear as day what he was feeling; he was reminiscing about something… someone. He was kind of jealous. What the hell was he thinking? He wasn’t jealous… no. He barely knew this guy. Pfft. He was just tired, he didn't know what he was thinking, he reassured himself. And there was the blush again.

Mumei kept his eyes on Kakashi. He knew he had nothing to worry about but he felt himself turning into an overprotective caretaker. He discreetly scented the air to discern what Kakashi was feeling. Ooh it seemed like the aloof man was finally warming up to him a little. He knew that Kakashi was having a hard time reconciling his sensei with a man that didn’t care about his own brother. In fact, he still felt a little guilty for the half-breed comment but it was effective in portraying Minato as someone different from who he actually was. Hmm. Maybe he should put this off on their ‘father’ more. Blame him for their distance instead of Minato. Kakashi would be more likely to swallow that pill.

Ugh; he felt so manipulative but there was nothing he could do yet. Kakashi wasn’t ready to see the future. Or more like Mumei wasn’t ready for Kakashi to know that he had died. Plus, the man still hated him; it wasn’t like he would believe anything he was saying. Even when he showed him the future, he would blame it on a genjutsu; he was less trusting than the Hokage. One day, maybe.

Both adults finally zoned back in on Naruto’s talking. The child had been babbling away like a creek while the two had been tuned into their own thoughts. Assumably he had been going on about his training or maybe his room, who knows, both things seemed to excite the child equally.

“Wanna see? Wanna see?” Naruto exclaimed, tugging on Kakashi’s sleeve.

“Naru, why don’t you let him unpack first, then show him after dinner, ne?”

“He’s moving in?!” the child exclaimed happily. “You can sleep in my room!” he offered.

Mumei chuckled, “He’s going to be sleeping in the third story, dear.”

“But… what if the special person comes back?” Naruto asked, the picture of innocence.

“Special person?” Kakashi asked with narrowed eyes. If he was taking someone’s space he certainly would take that as a reason to leave.

“Naru-” Mumei started but Naruto cut him off.

“Hai! Mu-Mu-nii-chan says that I can’t go all the way upstairs because that’s where a special person stays. He hasn’t been here in a while, but that’s where he lives!” Naruto filled in the blanks for Kakashi.

The ‘special person’ in question glanced at ‘Mu-Mu-nii-chan’ who was bright as an apple at Naruto’s confession. What an idiot.

“Thanks for saving my room, Mu-Mu-nii-chan,” Kakashi laughed.

“I’m going to make dinner. Make yourself comfortable. Naruto, go back to training,” Mumei excused himself from the terribly uncomfortable situation. Still bright red, he made his way to the main door of the mansion, leaving Kakashi to lock up. The jerk was bleeding anyways he could put it to good use.

Kakashi still chuckled a little, bemused by this whole situation. Beside him, Naruto sighed in frustration. It seemed he was a little fed up with whatever training Mumei had him doing. The boy tugged on his sleeve again.

“Ne, Kakashi-san, will you help me?” Naruto asked, his little cherubic face giving him the puppy dog face.

“Sure,” the copy nin answered.

With Kakashi in tow, Naruto took off for the training field. The boy flopped down on the ground next to his lap-desk and writing supplies. A book was opened in front of the child to a page of kanji. It seemed that the child was learning to read.

“Kakashi-san why are these two kanji different? They look the same,” the boy pouted.

Kakashi knelt down in the cool grass to assist the young lad.

“See, this kanji here is earth. The top stroke is short and the bottom stroke is long, which is how you can tell that it means earth and not warrior. Warrior/scholar has a longer top stroke and a shorter bottom stroke,” the genius explained.

“Ooh… you’re a good teacher, Kakashi-sensei!” the boy exclaimed.

Sensei? Kakashi thought to himself. He had never really helped anyone else to learn before. In his genin team he wasn’t interested in helping his teammates, he just wanted to get stronger and ensure that they followed the rules. As an ANBU captain, there wasn’t much teaching left to do because they were all skilled ANBU. It was an odd sensation but satisfying. He understood why Mumei seemed to enjoy it.

Naruto hummed quietly to himself as he carefully copied down the kanji from the book. Adults were so weird always getting lost in their thoughts. Maybe it was just Mu-nii and Kakashi-sensei, but they were really the only adults he knew besides Jiji and that old man didn’t count.

For quite some time Kakashi observed Naruto work on his kanji, occasionally interrupting to give tidbits of advice. A little longer with that stroke. That’s a stop not a slash. Too much ink.

Mumei went about cooking with practiced ease. It had been a while since he had prepared Kakashi’s favorite dish. Far too long, in his opinion. Once it was all finished he peeked out the back window at the duo. It was a pretty adorable sight. Naruto was animatedly arguing with Kakashi about some kanji while the man reassured the child that he was indeed right. Why was he right? Because of his many years of experience writing. Just as he was about to move to the door, he felt Kakashi’s eye on him. Aah caught again. He thought as a red hue took to his cheeks.

Peeking his head out the door, he shouted “Dinner’s ready!”

Naruto jumped to his feet and took off in a dead run. Kakashi followed slowly behind at a normal gait.

“Wash your hands, gaki,” Mumei reminded the bounding child.

“Hai~,” Naruto responded, bolting into the bathroom to quickly wash his inky hands off.

“You too, Kakashi,” the time traveler grunted to the copy nin once he arrived at the stairs.

Kakashi eye smiled his assent and joined the child in the bathroom. As Naruto was drying his hands, Kakashi splashed water at the back of the boy’s head. He got his expected response as a screech tore out of the boy’s throat.

As Naruto pushed his hands into the stream of water, Mumei appeared behind Kakashi, kunai out and at his jugular.

He quickly assessed the situation and realized that he had yet again overreacted. Instantly, the kunai was away from the copy nin’s throat and back in a pouch. Mumei backed out the door, apologizing frantically. This didn’t usually happen to him but ever since the fourth war… he was a little jumpy.

Naruto raced after his uncle, hands still moist. The man was bent over the counter, resting on his elbow with his hand covering his eyes. The child launched himself into his side and whispered reassuring words. Kakashi stood frozen. He hadn’t even seen the man move and he was Kakashi no Sharingan. Granted, his sharingan wasn’t out but he still had an excellent sense of movement. How odd.

Gathering up his courage, the copy nin left the bathroom and approached the distressed man. He placed an apprehensive hand on the man’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” he offered.

Mumei bolted upright, obviously upset by these words.

“No, I’m sorry. I’m the one that threatened you,” he growled. The sound was like an angered wolf and Kakashi almost took a step back but hesitated in doing so not wanting to anger the man even more.

“Hai, but I’m in your home and I startled you,” the Hatake tried.

“I can’t promise it won’t happen again, but I can tell you that I’m trying,” the man bit out. He had just come back from a war where he saw everyone he cared about die before his eyes, although neither of the others present were aware of such a fact. Either way, it was understandable that it took some time for him to adjust. It’s not possible to go from combat ready 24/7 to calm and relaxed.

Coughing slightly to clear the air, the Namikaze slapped a mask over his expression. Like a flash he went from the brooding, hurt man to one of happiness and energy.

“Saa, dinner’s ready.”

Kakashi frowned deeply. That kind of change was certainly not healthy. He kind of understood why the Hokage had put him here, he had things to change. This strange man seemed deeply injured, something that he understood on a personal level. It wasn’t just for his benefit, removing him from ANBU, it was for this small, messed up family too.

Naruto was displeased. Putting on masks of happiness to cover up his true feelings of abandonment was his thing. It felt wrong to see his uncle, a perfect person in the child’s eyes, act so hurt. It was something he had seen before. A vendor had made some kind of comment to the man and Mumei had snapped, again drawing a kunai and threatening the man. He didn’t know exactly was said because of the hushed tones, but he assumed it was something about him being a monster. Naruto felt guilty; his uncle always seemed to lose control when it came to him. The rest of the time he was calm and collected, practically happy-go-lucky. He didn’t like seeing his idol so hurt , and all because of him. He would become strong. So strong that his uncle would never have to worry about him and would never make that face again.

Bustling around the kitchen Mumei pretended nothing had happened at all. It wasn’t a particularly healthy coping method, but it worked for the time. Of course, without his knowledge both Kakashi and Naruto were plotting on how to fix the man, patch the holes torn in his armour, in his heart.

With an enthusiastic gesture, the man in question beckoned the deep in thought duo to the table. Laid out before them was boiled saury with salt, miso shiru and slices of eggplant. Kakashi’s mouth watered at the sight. He was slightly suspicious how the man knew his favorite food, but he let it slide after the guy’s previous episode.

Naruto slid into his side of the booth and somehow managed to take up the entire bench. For such a small child he could take up a lot of space. This forced Kakashi next to Mumei. Kakashi shifted into the bench first and gave the other man ample space. He understandably wary of the guy. Afterall he did just threaten him not even two minutes before. Mumei slipped into the seat shortly after.

The trio offered a surprisingly reserved “Itadakimasu,” before eating their meal.

Naruto stared intensely at Kakashi as he prepared to remove his mask, hoping to find out what the copy nin was hiding underneath.

“Underneath this mask,” he said with a half-hearted eye smile, “is another mask!”

Kakashi picked up a piece of saury and placed it through the henge mask, chewed and swallowed. Naruto looked absolutely amazed. As he still did not have the knowledge of the academy, this seemed like absolute magic.

“How did you do that?!” he shouted.

“Henge,” Kakashi replied, eye still shut. He actually had no clue how this permanent henge ended up on his being. He didn’t actually even know how to dismiss it; he assumed there was a seal somewhere but had yet to find it. It was more convenient this way, sure, but it was very curious. Before he was in the hospital, he didn’t have it. Upon his awakening in the hospital, he had it. He had determined that the only one that could have placed the mysterious seal upon him was Mumei; another good reason to get close to the man and figure out what was up with him.

The air was tense but Naruto eased it with his rapid babbling. He spoke of the kanji he was having difficulty with, how many leaves he had managed to stick to his body and numerous other topics. Mumei seemed to enthusiastically engage with the boy but Kakashi could tell that his heart wasn’t in it.

Once the meal was finished, Naruto dashed outside to play, leaving Mumui and Kakashi to clean up the dishes. Mumei went about the chore in awkward silence. Kakashi on the other hand decided this was the perfect to do some questioning.

“Where is the seal?” he asked, completely non-threatening, simply questioning.

“Behind your right ear,” Mumei replied simply.

Kakashi reached up with his right hand, feeling for the seal but felt nothing.

“Chakra and blood,” he added.

Channeling chakra to the area, Kakashi bit his finger and placed it at the specified location. He felt the ink on his skin and the henge disappeared. He was relieved that he had pulled the other mask back up after dinner. The seal was… in the shape of a naruto? Odd. Something to ask about later, he supposed.

The two went about the duty in silence after their exchange. Mumei washed and Kakashi dried. It was uncomfortable.

“You’re already forgiven,” the copy nin stated. He held nothing against a shinobi with a little PTSD. It was a very common mental illness in ninjas. Most saw the Yamanaka's for treatment but others were a little strong-willed, insisting that they could deal with it themselves. Kakashi was one of them.

Mumei snorted in response and finished the dishes. He kept his hands in the water though, scrubbing and scrubbing. The water was hot and singed his already pruny hands. They turned bright red in color and yet he scrubbed at some invisible stain. Kakashi reached over and turned the water off.

“The blood is long gone,” he soothed. Not for the first time, the copy nin wondered what the other man was thinking. What he was seeing. It wasn’t his business, but he wanted to know. He wanted to know everything about this stranger that showed up out of nowhere, appeared in his hospital room, took in his orphaned nephew and taught the child the shinobi arts. He was voraciously curious.

Mumei said nothing in response and dried his burnt hands. He felt no pain and no matter how much he dried them, they still felt sticky and moist with his deceased love’s blood. A shiver ran down his spine.

He walked outside, leaving Kakashi standing in the kitchen alone and wondering. The time traveler joined his nephew in the yard. He shouted to the child, calling him to his side. Although Kakashi could not hear what he was saying, it appeared that he was explaining something, an exercise perhaps. Naruto ran away from his uncle a ways and prepared himself. The man took out several blunted kunai and shuriken and began lobbing them at the boy, allowing him to practice his dodging.

The child seemed to calm the scarred shinobi. If Kakashi was being honest, the older man reminded him of himself. He wondered who he had lost.

After a while of watching, Kakashi joined the two outside. Naruto seemed to be getting better at dodging as time went on and Mumei gradually sped up his tossing. He was tossing barely at genin level but Naruto was doing surprisingly well for a 6-year-old. Kakashi took up residence in a nearby tree and flipped open a book; it was on child soldiers and how to ensure that they had a childhood, something that he himself missed out on.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi kept an eye on Naruto, evaluating his progress. The child was very unpredictable, hopping and diving when you would expect a zig or a zag. That was good, it would make it that much harder to pin him down.

Mumei stopped his lobbing and instructed the child to pick up the weapons and practice his aim. Naruto scrambled to pick up every blunted object and placed them in his pouches. Several targets were set up in the nearby trees and the boy began to practice his aim. He was pretty terrible, to be honest. Granted it was his first time attempting this exercise, but his aim was often off by several feet. Mumei had to keep correcting his stance as well as the way he held each kunai and shuriken. No matter, he was sure that with practice the child would exceed all expectations here as well.

After an hour or two, it began to darken outside. Naruto began yawning and although his aim had gotten better, he still had a ways to go.

Mumei called for the boy to pick up his weapons and get ready for bed, claiming he had a surprise. While the two went inside, Kakashi stayed outside for a while longer, enjoying the quiet dusk. He had missed this compound. It had used to be so full of life but after Minato-sensei and Kushina-nee died, it had become terribly quiet. It hurt him to come by but he felt that it was his duty to take care of the grounds.

20 minutes passed and Kakashi hopped off his branch. Making his way into the house, he spotted a wolf and fox lounging in the living room, reading a story. He joined the onesie-wearing pair, plopping down in a chair and continued to read his book. It weaved an interesting story. From what he could tell, Mumei was doing exactly everything that was suggested in the book without actually realizing he was doing it properly. A mix of fun training with normal childhood activities. The only thing missing was friends for the child. Unfortunately it would be a hard time finding the boy people that would be allowed to play with him. The tales about the monster child reached even the youngest of ears.

“They got all the treasure the devils had. The devils also promised not to bothers the villagers again. They lived happily ever after,” Mumei finished the story of Momotarou. The little fox was passed out on the gray wolf’s downy fur. The man gathered the child in his arms and walked up the stairs, precious cargo in tow.

Mumei tucked the child into his bed and kissed him on the forehead, murmuring “I love you.”

Naruto was apparently not as asleep as the adults thought, because he whispered an “I love you, too,” right back.

The time traveler descended the stairs feeling lighter than he had since the incident. Mumei decided to do some reading on new jutsu. He knew that his arsenal was lacking. He had a few jutsu that he used for all occasions, but now that he was masquerading as Minato’s brother, he had to find some new techniques. He certainly couldn’t use the Six Paths, toad jutsu or Kyuubi chakra. He could probably get away with Rasengan as he was related to the creator, but he had realized that he couldn’t depend on the same jutsu all the time. To be a good ninja you must be unpredictable and relying on the same old jutsu was very predictable.

Heading for the library, he walked past the living room where Kakashi was sprawled reading his own book. Apparently the copy nin was quite taken with Naruto now that he could come out of the shadows and actually take care of the boy. He was reading a book on how to ensure that the child actually got a childhood. Good. Naruto deserved one.

Walking up the steps in the library, he stopped in the wind section. There was a variety of Wind Release jutsu. He was actually unsure how Minato and Kushina had managed to amass such a collection. Konoha was not known for their Wind shinobi, in fact, Minato, Naruto and Asuma were some of the only users in the village. It was more common for Suna shinobi to use Wind techniques.

He decided to go alphabetically and selected Fūton: Kūki no Dangan and Fūton: Kiryū Ranbu. Both techniques he had seen before, one used by Nagato and the other used by Temari. This would make his learning of the jutsu much easier. Taking the two scrolls, he descended the stairs to the bottom floor of the library and descended the next set to the basement training area. He flicked on several lights and settled on the floor to read through Fūton: Kūki no Dangan.

Kakashi watched the man go into the library and presumably pick out some scrolls. He was again curious what Mumei was doing so he retreated from the living room and followed the man down the stairs. A large desk was located in the corner and Kakashi took up residence in that corner so that he could watch the other man train. The guy made Kakashi feel like a child again, full of wonder and interest. Nothing really seemed to hold his interest these days other than missions so he was excited to follow the man around.

Mumei took notice that Kakashi was following him like a little lost puppy. He found it interesting, but didn’t mind too terribly much. The jounin had seen enough loss in his lifetime and seemed to be becoming attached to Naruto and himself. It made sense that he would want to learn more about the stranger that suddenly appeared as such a prominent figure in his life.

After finishing his first read-through of the scroll, Mumei decided to give it a try. Luckily it only had one seal as his hand seals were far below average for his rank. That was something else he would have to work on. Placing his hands in the bird seal, he molded his chakra into the air around him. He pushed and pulled the air until it resembled a cylinder with a cone on one end, what the scroll called a bullet. Once the bullets were formed, he shot them towards several training dummies at high speed. If the dummies had been stationary ninja, they would have been obliterated. Luckily for him these dummies were reinforced with seals that made them very resistant to attacks of all kinds. The Fūton jutsu made the wood creak as the post bent backwards but it held steady.

Mumei practiced the technique again and again, gradually building speed as he formed the air bullets. He was far from having it mastered, but it was pretty damn fast if he said so himself. The time between the hand seal and the bullets firing was down to two seconds. With his vast reserves of chakra he could make hundreds to thousands of bullets and fire them in any direction, making this technique particularly deadly. It could easily wipe out or subdue an entire group of shinobi. This was a technique that he would have to practice quite a bit more in order to cut his time down even more drastically as well as removing the hand seal and speaking components.

Kakashi watched his new companion train with interest. He was not innately a genius, but his hard work and perseverance could easily put him into the genius class. In his gawking, a moment of eye contact was made. Kakashi quickly looked back down at his book, face flushed. Those stunning cerulean eyes really were something. They were much harder than both Naruto and Minato-sensei’s. However, they had a soft quality, something that seemed to draw him in. Every time the man spoke, he felt compelled to listen. Every time the man moved, he felt compelled to watch. It was an odd sensation, being so captivated by another human being. It was similar to watching a wild animal in their natural habitat, hunting, playing, eating. He wanted to know everything that he did, everything that he was. He was fascinated.

Mumei caught Kakashi staring at him. At first, he thought it was out of worry because of the incident earlier in the day. However, the copy nin did not seem to be tensed, ready for battle. In fact, he just seemed to be observing. They locked eyes briefly and the other man blushed. Interesting , he thought.

The time traveler plopped back onto the ground and pulled out the next scroll. With his stamina, he could probably go all night, but he didn’t want to worry Kakashi on his first night back in the compound. He read through the scroll briefly. This one was an easy supplementary jutsu, meant only to stir up dust and create a controllable sandstorm. A convenient technique, but only suitable for particular instances.

He practiced the jutsu a few times, creating gales that stemmed from his palms and stirring up dust. However, it just got annoying in such a small space. He would have to try this jutsu outside or in Suna sometime. A controlled sandstorm in that kind of environment would be very convenient. Kakashi seemed somewhat unimpressed with this technique as it just briefly blinded him from being able to read his book. It one word, it was annoying. Mumei seemed to understand the jutsu easily though and only did it once or twice before stopping. The man put away the scrolls before standing and stretching.

“Good night,” Mumei called quietly before heading for the stairs.

“You can talk about it, you know. I’m said to be a good listener,” Kakashi blurted.

Mumei froze. He debated telling Kakashi the truth, the whole truth, but refrained. The man still wasn’t ready. He opted for a different version.

“You’re familiar with watching everyone you’ve ever loved die before your eyes. So am I. I refuse to let it happen ever again.”

“Naruto won’t die. I won’t let him. We won’t let him,” Kakashi reassured.

“I know,” Mumei replied. “Good night,” he said with finality and walked up the stairs.

That went well , Kakashi thought sarcastically. It was strange how much the man seemed to know about him. He wasn’t sure if he found it suspicious, reassuring, or a mix of the two. Standing, he rolled his back as well and followed the other man up the stairs. Up to the third floor he went. The man finally realized that he had yet to put his belongings away.

Pulling out a single scroll, he unsealed the contents. Clothes were put into the closet. Picture frame of his genin team went on the nightstand next to his family photo. All done. The apartment was barren, just like him. There were no knickknacks to unpack, no treasured pieces of furniture to find homes for. Just clothes and a picture. It was a little sad, but Kakashi found that he didn’t care. He stripped down to his shuriken boxers and reactivated his strange new naruto henge. The mask zapped into place and he stripped off his shirt. It was a strange feeling to be able to sleep without a shirt on. The mask-shirt combo had always been part of his nightly routine, but now that he had the henge, he didn’t really need it. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the clothes flying into the dirty clothes bin.

With a yawn, he pulled himself into bed and covered himself in blankets. He had no need for an alarm clock as his circadian rhythm always awoke him at dawn every morning.

Meanwhile, Mumei was also in bed. However, he was simply staring at the ceiling, lost in thought yet again. He couldn’t believe the events of the day. Not only had he threatened Kakashi for playing with Naruto, he had grouched and brooded over it for the rest of the night. That wasn’t like him at all. Maybe it was a combination of the stress suddenly having his lost love in his close proximity and his heightened jumpy senses. Either way, it was something that could never happen again.

He rolled onto his side and pondered of the future. The Uchiha no Jiken would be coming up soon. He had to take care of Danzou before he gave Itachi the order to kill his entire clan. Now that Kakashi was around he wouldn’t have to stay with Naruto all the time, worrying about his safety. One night, he could sneak out and do the deed. It would have to be soon, very soon.

A plan started to pull together. He would infiltrate Danzou’s home, kill the man and dismantle Root. He would have to take plenty of sealing supplies in order to remove the memories of Danzou and his brainwashing techniques. Some members of Root would be unsavable. The older members had nothing but memories of Danzou. Their memories could not be sealed away, they were to prevalent in their entire lives, their beings. They would have to be ended. The children, though, he could help. They might be set back a few years in time, but they would survive.

With a plan in place, Mumei drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* Sato Yuki is the most stereotypical name I could find for Japan. Sato is the most stereotypical name and Yuki is the most common first name. Therefore it’s like saying John Smith.

Translation Time

Saa = come

Fūton: Kūki no Dangan = Wind Release: Air Bullets

Fūton: Kiryū Ranbu = Wind Release: Air Current Wild Dance

Yes, Kakashi is not reading Icha Icha. He also still doesn’t talk to his friends. I promise I know what I’m doing. Being a jounin sensei is what really knocked Kakashi on his ass, forcing him out of his head. He’s still stuck in a bad place inside his mind and he won’t get out of it overnight, although it will be sped up because of his current situation.

About the whole killing Danzou thing. I got a comment saying that he and Hiruzen have an understanding, but in reality, Sarutobi is just turning a blind eye. I’d like to relate it to the Americas and Trump. Many Americans are ignoring his blatant anti-muslim, anti-black and anti-semitic views because they want to believe in the good intentions of our president. This is similar to Hiruzen pretending that nothing is wrong with Danzou, he is only thinking of the village. In reality, both are power-hungry. Danzou wants the destruction of the Uchihas both because of the coup and because he wants all the Sharingans. If you recall, he has this really freaky Sharingan arm thing. I don’t want that happening again. Plus, Danzou has decided to brainwash a ton of children into killing each other. If that isn’t enough reason to kill him, I don’t know what is. Sorry about the politics, I’m just an angry American.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8: The Murders

Warning: This chapter will have some gore in it. It is entitled The Murders after all. The violence will be clearly marked and easily skippable. There shouldn’t be any real plot in there, maybe some ruminations but overall it won’t be anything of great import.

Mumei awoke to a child already in his ninja gear jumping excitedly on his bed.

“Nii-chan~,” Naruto whined.

“Hn~ what, Naru?” he muttered half-asleep.

“Kakashi-sensei says he’ll train me today! Can I? Please?” the boy begged.

The man in question stood by the doorway looking quite bemused at the whole situation. When he told the boy that he would train him to give his uncle the day off, he wasn’t expecting the child to take off and immediately wake his sleeping uncle up.

“Sure, go have fun,” Mumei finally answered.

Naruto took off, grabbed Kakashi by the hand and dragged him downstairs and out to the training field. He was quite excited to do something besides coping kanji and reading. Sure, they did other things like target practice, but he wanted to do something cool! Maybe even learn a jutsu! Naruto talked animatedly to his sensei, begging him for new techniques. Kakashi simply eye-smiled and replied that he would one day know plenty of jutsu but today was not that day.

Mumei rolled out of bed and changed out of his awesome onesie. Today he would do a little bit of recon and strike at night. That was the plan, anyways. He was lucky that Kakashi had offered to take Naruto off his hands for the day. He had planned on leaving a clone in his place, but Naruto could always tell and hated when he did that.

Now in his typical jounin attire, the time traveler set off for Danzou’s home. It was early enough in the morning that the geezer should still be in bed.

With a shunshin, Mumei appeared just a short ways away from Danzou. The man counted the Root operatives that were guarding the house. There were three on the roof, five in the house itself and five around the perimeter. Pretty well guarded, but nothing that Mumei couldn’t deal with. He was the master of subterfuge, after all, capable of avoiding ANBU while defacing the Hokage monument, dressed in bright orange.

Mumei spent his day taking note of Danzou’s actions. The man did not do very much. Root came and went from his home, presumably accepting missions and going off to take care of them. It was somewhat boring and he flipped through a book while keeping his an eye on the traitor in his peripheral vision.

He noted eleven bathroom breaks. The old man should probably visit a doctor about that. Well, maybe not. A weak bladder wouldn’t be a problem for him after tonight.

Getting slightly bored, Mumei considered testing their response times by flipping a kunai their way but thought better of it. An attack, no matter how weak, would increase security around the house that night. He could probably handle it, but the less deaths the better, in his opinion. Many members of Root were orphans who had nobody. They did not deserve to die in vain.

Quietly, dusk settled over Konoha. The sleepy yellow sun gave a final yawn and dipped beneath the horizon. Long spindly shadows were cast over every surface. Mumei yawned. It was nearly time.

The world got darker and darker, shadows consumed the village. Street lights hummed quietly, their pale glow the only source of light. Not even the moon was out tonight, as if it didn’t want to see the horrors that were to come. No stars twinkled, clouds consumed the sky.

~~~~~~~GORE/VIOLENCE~~~~~~~

Mumei made his move. Channeling chakra to his feet, he bounded silently towards the house and appeared on the roof like a flash of lightning. He shadowed one Root, took a kunai from his sleeve and slid it across the ANBU’s neck. The slice went clean through the skin and muscle and pierced the carotid arteries on either side of his throat. A warm arterial spray burst outwards from the wound in two directions. Deep red misted the air. Mumei was thankful that the masks that ANBU wore dulled their sense of smell. Fresh copper scent was on the wind.

With bloody hands, Mumei caught the guard’s body gently and dragged it towards the center of the roof. Blood continued to spurt from the dual wounds, quickly pushing out liter after liter of blood. He wiped his bloody kunai on the bandages on his right leg and deposited the weapon back in a pouch.  He swiftly moved behind another Root. With the scent of blood on his person, the ANBU turned in confusion once the aroma got near enough. Mumei already stood a foot away and he reached out, placing one hand on the back of the ninja’s head, the other on his jaw and ripped his head to the right. The vertebrae cracked sharply in response. The force of the twist was too much and the shinobi collapsed, dead as a doornail.

This time, Mumei did not catch the fresh corpse. Instead, he vanished yet again, appearing behind a smoke stack near the last roof guard. The body made a solid thump as it slumped to the ground. The remaining Root stepped forward to investigate, eyes squinting in the darkness. Out from behind the smoke stack, Mumei stepped. This Root was shorter than the others. Young, fresh to this command. He would be spared and sealed.

Mumei slipped his left arm around the ninja’s throat, cradling his delicate neck in the corner of his elbow. The cold bite of metal on his throat is what the Root noticed first. His mouth opened to shout, but he was too slow. His gloved right hand slid underneath the Root’s mask and covered his mouth so no scream of warning could escape.

The Root nin lost his sense of color vision at 4 seconds, black and white at 6, frontal cortex was out at 8 and at 9 seconds, sweet unconsciousness. The nin struggled the whole time, kicking, elbowing, stomping, but Mumei was like a rock, he showed no sense of pain or impairment as the man fell unconscious.

Mumei bound the Root shinobi with ninja wire, behind his back, palms facing outwards to prevent any hand seals should he regain consciousness while his cohorts were being taken care of. The legs were next. He did not bind only the ankles, but knees and thighs as well, each separately to prevent escape. Next, he removed all weapons from the shinobi including a tanto, kunai, shuriken and several poisoned senbons. He sealed the weapons away for later disposal and went back to the two corpses to remove their weapons and look through their belongings. He sat on the roof pondering the location of the Root hideout. It was no matter, he could probably track back to it later.

Standing, he moved to the portion of the roof that overlooked the backyard. Two ninja were stationed there. Removing two shuriken, he grasped them both in one hand and sent them flying, each on their own mission. Both found their target with ease, embedding themselves just below the skull above the C1 vertebrae. The medulla portion of the brain stem was severed and both bodies flopped to the grass like dolls. Blood sprayed from the vertebral arteries as they were severed, creating a small fountain of red from each corpse.

The guards at the front of the house exchanged looks. One Root would remain to guard the front while the other two went to investigate the noise. The two guards split around each side of the house, each taking their own wall. They crouched low, not bothering to look skyward as they believed three guards to be there. Mumei took another shuriken in hand and sent it spiraling downwards at the left guard. It imbedded in the guard’s right temple with a thunk. The impact to the brain killed him almost instantly.

Pulling out some ninja wire, Mumei jumped silently down behind the other approaching guard. Channeling chakra into the wire, he quickly wrapped it around the Root ninja’s neck right below the jaw. He jerked it smoothly backwards. It slid between the C4 and C5 vertebrae, offering absolutely no resistance. The chakra-infused wire cut through like a warm knife through butter. Blood gushed upwards, spraying the Mumei in the face. The sticky warmth dripped down his skin.

Mumei wiped his eyes, nose and mouth of the sticky solution on his sleeve. His face was fully coated red, blond locks flecked with the gory remains. It dripped down his chin, adding more red dots to his clothing. Maybe he should start wearing red, it would be a lot easier to disguise the blood , he thought blankly.

Around to the front of the house he went to dispose of the last outdoors Root. Slinking along the wall, he dodged the windows just in case someone were watching, although unlikely. Those stationed indoors typically faced inward, letting their outside companions take care of outward threats. On the lower floor there were two guards, on the second floor there were three more, one in Danzou’s room, the other two in the hallway.

Mumei would enter through the bottom floor first, take out the guards, exit, reenter through a window on the top floor and finally enter Danzou’s room. He slipped into the backyard again and through the back door. Drawing the Hakkō Chakura Tō that he had not yet been able to use in Konoha, he charged it with chakra, making the blade glow. The guard stationed at the back of the house noticed the light and turned towards it.

He drew his own blunt-nosed tanto. The Root tantos were only meant for cutting and defense so Mumei was at an advantage in this fight. Mumei raised his tanto, striking first with a thrust. The Root soldier blocked, but the chakra-infused blade slid through it with ease, cutting the opposing tanto in half. Mumei pulled back the blade and plunged it into the unguarded man’s aorta. The still alive flesh sizzled from the lightning chakra. He tugged the blade from the man’s chest, the blood gushed out like a waterfall, drenching Mumei’s chest and dotting his already soaked face.

The other guard, Kanoe, alerted to the sound of battle and rounded the corner. He drew his sword and took up an offensive pose. He lunged forward, performing an overhead strike. Mumei defended tanto in one hand. With a kunai in the other, he jabbed for the trachea. Kanoe tried to block, but the Hakkō Chakura Tō drew the blade further away. The kunai made contact with the ribbed tube and went through to the vertebrae and lodged there.

Kanoe gasped for breath that never came. He dropped the sword and gripped the kunai with both hands. He ripped it from where it was stuck in bone. Blood filled the wound and dripped down into the trachea and esophagus, filling his lungs and stomach. He coughed again and again trying to expel the blood, but it simply spurted out of the wounded tubes. Seconds passed and Kanoe fell to the ground gasping for air, fingers still digging wildly into his throat. 15 seconds in, he was unconscious. In minutes he would be dead, his brain suffering from hypoxia.

Only three guards left. The guards were on either side of the stairwell. He could probably take them both on at once but didn’t want to alert Danzou to his presence quite yet. A creak from the stairs alerted his attention. One of the guards must be coming to check out the coughing.

He crept over the body and pool of blood on the floor, crouching next to the stairwell. He looked upwards and prepared his kunai. The guard peeked over the railing and was rewarded with a kunai stabbed through his eye, making contact with his frontal cortex. The guard slumped over the railing. Luckily his body was pretty stationary.

Mumei crept over the body and up the stairs. With chakra applied to his feet, he was able to avoid creating noise on the stairs. The last guard that stood between him and Danzou’s room. From a pouch he removed a senbon and a bottle of fast-acting poison. He dabbed the senbon into the poison and capped the bottle. With a flick of his wrist, he send the senbon flying into the remaining guard’s left carotid artery.

The Root nin stumbled backwards, the poison quickly flowing into his brain. It flowed through the jugular and into the heart, then flowing into the rest of the body. Through the course of a couple seconds, the poison had coursed throughout the entire body. First the convulsions came. The guard dropped to the ground and flopped like a fish. The noise drew out the final guard.

Mumei launched himself forward, grabbing the ANBU by the neck. The metal bracer cut into his throat. The ANBU growled in response. It was Terai. He was one of Danzou’s most loyal soldiers. He would have to die. He dug the bracer in further, cutting off all oxygen. Slowly, Terai lost consciousness. Mumei finished him off with a kunai to the throat.

Now it was Danzou’s turn. When Mumei entered the old geezer’s room, the man of the hour was standing there waiting for him.

“Shimura Danzou. For your acts of treason, you are to be terminated,” Mumei growled.

Danzou had been waiting for him; probably since he first entered the house. The man stood, kunai enhanced with Fūton: Shinkūjin. The blade glowed light green and was the length of a scimitar. Danzou gave a slight smirk, amused at this blood-covered stranger’s declaration

“Show me what you’ve got,” Shimura challenged, entering into a battle stance.

Mumei drew the Hakkō Chakura Tō in his right hand, a kunai held loosely in his left. A white glow took to the chakra enhanced blade as slow lighting fire. He took on a defensive pose, tanto raised diagonally in front of his body.

Danzou shot forward, enhanced kunai coming downward in an arching overhead swing. Mumei blocked the slice with ease. White and light green chakras sizzling as they made contact with each other. The time traveler shoved his tanto forward, overpowering the older man and forcing him to take several steps back.

With his kunai, Mumei stabbed outwards, aiming for his opponent’s exposed stomach. Shimura blocked in kind with another kunai of his own. With both hands occupied, Danzou finally finished molding the chakra he needed for a special jutsu.

He had first begun molding his chakra without hand seals when the Namikaze had entered the room. His mastery over this technique allowed him to get away with no hand seals as long as he took enough time to properly mold the chakra.

“Fūton: Shinkū Renpa,” he shouted.

Danzou took in a deep breath and exhaled several blades of  piercing sharp wind directly into the Namikaze’s face. Mumei dodged to the left, disengaging both his tanto and kunai from the battle. While mid-dodge, he reached into his pouch and removed several more kunai. With a flip of his wrist the four kunai went flying towards Shimura, forcing the man to parry and not giving him enough time to use Fūton: Shinkūjin on his other kunai.

Danzou dodged to his left, dancing away from the kunai easily. Mumei took that opportunity to lunge forward, engaging with both his kunai and the tanto. The men locked together and a bead of sweat dribbled down Danzou’s forehead. The man before him was a sight to behold, covered in blood and ready to do more damage. They locked eyes and a staring contest began. Mumei’s normally bright cerulean eyes appeared particularly dark. Danzo’s one-eyed gaze narrowed.

This felt awful like a trap. But it was too late. A shadow clone with a Rasengan in hand appeared behind Danzou. It wasted little time plunging the orb into the man’s back. Shimura tried to move out of the way but found himself trapped by ninja wire extending to both his left and right.

When Mumei had sent the kunai as a distraction, he had chosen kunai with ninja wire attached to them. When the kunai embedded in the walls, the Namikaze let the strings go slack until he had readied the trap. The shadow clone was a pre-prepared measure, one that Mumei had created when he was still observing the man’s abode. He had created multiple shadow clones and sent them around the house to observe and watch for ANBU. Once Mumei had moved into the upper level of the house, the shadow clones moved in, protecting them from being interrupted as well as providing backup.

The ball of wind chakra drilled halfway through the man’s body, bursting through the ribs and destroying the bottom part of his lungs and his liver. Danzou coughed up blood, his eye draining of life.

“Uchiha… coup,” he rasped.

“Killing them all isn’t the answer,” he answered before pulling up his tanto and inserting it in the center of the man’s forehead. It entered with a schlick and a crunch of bones. The rest of the light faded from the traitor’s eye. Mumei ripped the tanto back out of his skull, brain matter came out along with the blade.

Now it was time for a little slaughter-rescue mayhem. Danzou was so confident that he would win without any difficulties that he didn’t even call for backup. That would make it a little complicated trying to find the main headquarters, but certainly more fun.

But first, he would do a little rummaging. Stepping over a pool of blood and brain matter, he poked around in Danzou’s belongings. He wasn’t a bandit, per say, but he had a tendency to look around and see if he could find anything of value. Aah, see? He found some Fūton scrolls, several of which were of great interest.

He noted two scrolls with familiar names, Fūton: Shinkūjin and Fūton: Shinkū Renpa, two jutsu that Danzou had used earlier. Along with those were Fūton: Shinkū Taigyoku, Fūton: Shinkūgyoku, Fūton: Shinkūha and Kazanami. They were interesting techniques, he was looking forward to learning them later as well as teaching them to Naruto. The boy would need more techniques in his arsenal than Rasengan. Granted, he did just use the technique to defeat Danzou but it was more because of the element of surprise than it being his only attack.

Still soaked in blood, he took to the roof to check on his single young captive. The child struggled in his bindings but was unable to move. Mumei hefted the boy over his shoulder and decided to take him along until he found a suitable holding area to deprogram him.

He raised his head to the wind and scented the air. Mumei hopped to the next roof then the next, following the scent of Root. They had a distinct scent once you smelled enough of them. It was like dirt and tanto steel, shadows and darkness. He was quite the sight to see, hair bloodied and face and clothes covered in the sticky red substance. He hopped from rooftop to rooftop, approaching the hive.

He propped open a manhole cover and dropped down into the sewer that reminded him so much of his mindscape. The smell of sewage began to overwhelm his senses but the smell of Root was stronger. Mumei pushed forwards, following the scent. He followed the odor up to the wall. He dropped the Root boy like a sack of potatoes and swiftly knocked him out. His hands strafed the wall. The blood had dried on his gloves and hands and red flakes chipped from his palms.

He channeled chakra into the wall and a seal appeared. Gofuu Kekkai. He summoned several clones and dispersed them to the other four points where the seal was placed. Each clone found their seal and simultaneously they pulled all five off. The brick wall collapsed in on itself and Mumei stepped over the rubble, the shadow clones flanking him on either side.

Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fū raced towards the 5 Mumeis. Torune put his hands together, shouting Dokujin no Jutsu, creating a poisonous smokescreen from his rinkaichū. Rinkaichū were very rare even in the Aburame clan as they destroy the cells of their enemies as well as their hosts’ bodies. Only two Aburame were known to have antibodies to counteract the destruction, Torune and Shikuro. Torune was truly a valuable asset to the village and still salvageable because of his relationship with Shino. Fū was a little more tricky but his dedication to Torune would hopefully overcome his loyalty to Danzou.

Mumei decided to spare them and give them adequate deprogramming. The poison mist enveloped him but not a single wisp touched him. Fū threw his Kama into the mist. He pushed chakra out of every pore, pushing the mist away from his body. The poison disappeared as the chakra burst outwards. He sidestepped the Kama with ease and it clinged into the brick wall behind him.

Both Torune and Fū leaped towards Mumei, wielding their tantos and using Ansatsu Jutsu. They attacked with a series of swift slashes, but Mumei’s eyes were well-weathered with battle and saw through the slices with ease. He dipped and dodged while the shadow clones circled around the Root operatives. The clones took advantage of a brief opening and subdued the two enemies. Mumei crouched before them, soaked in the blood of their brethren.

~~~~~~~~END GORE/VIOLENCE~~~~~~~

“Worry not, you will continue to be shinobi of Konoha, working so that the Hi no Kuni can live on,” he encouraged the two. Fū seemed unimpressed but Torune lent an interested ear.

“You will see your brother, Torune. I entrust his life to you,” he added with a smile and a wink. He ruffled the 8-year-old’s hair and gave the two boys swift chops to the neck, rendering them unconscious. The clones went about restraining the Root operatives and put them with the other Root boy. The four clones remained with the prisoners while Mumei went onward.

The man created more shadow clones and pushed forward, taking more and more ground. He slaughtered a number of loyal adults while capturing children who could be helped. The clones took back an additional three girls and two boys. Mumei kept onward to the center of the compound. It was an open space with high walls and several bridges.

Mumei weaved his way through the many tunnels that lead under Konoha. He finally stumbled upon the housing chamber where the Root members lived, far removed from society and under Danzou’s thumb. There, he killed another seven and saved five more children.

He searched high and low for Sai and his brother Shin. The duo were 7 and 9 respectively and did not yet have complete loyalties to Danzou. Shin never truly submitted to the Root rules and Sai would do anything for his pseudo-brother.

Mumei discovered what appeared to be a torture chamber. He opened each door, expecting to see enemy shinobi. Instead, he found small children ranging from three to ten. They were obviously new recruits, not even Root quite yet. They seemed to be in the process of reprogramming, turning them into loyal soldiers. 10 children in all were in cells. He summoned a shadow clone to tend to each child and forced himself onward to find Sai and Shin. They must be here somewhere.

At the end of the torture chamber, he found small dog crates. He approached them apprehensively, wary of what may be contained inside. He knelt near the crates. Several were empty but narrowed eyes shone out of the darkness in two. The bloodied man soothed the creatures, slowly opening the cages. Twin growls echoed from the back corners, teeth glistening. The larger of the beasts lunged towards Mumei.

It… was a boy. It was Shin. The boy crouched on all fours, completely unarmed except for his hands and teeth. Mumei used a little Talk no Jutsu, whispering gently to the boy.

“I know you’re just protecting your brother from Danzou. He’s dead, he can’t hurt either of you anymore,” he said, reaching a hand out. The boy’s growl lessened.

“Gentle now, I’m not going to hurt you. Would you like to protect Konoha in the light instead of the shadows?”

The boy quieted and stilled. He was loyal to his village, he just didn’t believe in Danzou and his way of running things. Shin nodded slowly and turned to Sai who was still crouching in his cage. The boy took the outstretched hand in his own and crawled forward. He looked at the bloody stranger warily but trusted his brother.

He held out a bloodied hand and the older child took it. Mumei created several shadow clones to clean up the remains of the Root headquarters, looking through their belongings and ledgers. Mumei led the two boys out into the center of the Root headquarters. He instructed the shadow clones to bring the other children to begin the deprogramming, unsealing and memory removal.

Each child was placed in a circle. There were 28 kids saved in all with a death count of 26, not including Danzou himself. All-in-all, it wasn’t a bad rate. He had suffered much worse losses. At least he was able to save more than half. It wasn’t their fault that Danzou chose them out of the other orphans to brainwash.

Mumei went from child to child ensuring that the Zekka Konzetsu no In had disappeared from each of them upon Danzou’s death. None of them had the seal on their tongues which was a relief. All he had left to do was seal the memories of Danzou and ensure that they were loyal to the Hokage and not their deceased leader.

He started with Shin and Sai, drawing out intricate seals on their foreheads. Danzou became a distant memory, one replaced with happy memories of brotherhood and love. There were no dog crates, only small hidey holes in the forest where they played hide and seek. The children would have their own choice whether or not they enrolled in the ninja academy or not. They would not be forced to live in the darkness, serving from the shadows. They could become shinobi of the light.

Mumei moved on to the next child, removing their negative memories. So on he went, replacing their first kills, the deaths of their loved ones with affection and friends. The children were unconscious because of the sealing and he sent clones to take them back to the orphanage and tuck them into bed.

The time traveler molded his chakra into a shunshin and appeared outside the Namikaze compound. He slunk inside and entered through the front door. He sent out chakra feelers to ensure that Naruto and Kakashi were safely in bed.

Naruto was fast asleep but Kakashi was a different story. The man had apparently stayed up all night awaiting his return on the couch. It was surprising that the copy nin had decided to stay up based on his previous behavior around the man from the future.

Mumei crept along the wall hoping not to be seen. Kakashi glimpsed at the blood-soaked man before him. He narrowed his visible eye, wondering who the man had killed.

“Root,” Mumei said simply before heading up the stairs and into the master, shutting the door tightly and locking it. He retreated to the bathroom, shucking his clothing and hopping into the shower. He scrubbed every inch of his skin until it was raw and bleeding in some places. He wanted to feel pain, to force himself to feel even a fraction of the pain of those he had cut down.

Mumei had not suffered many wounds, only a cut here or there. He slipped on a pair of boxers and set about cleaning the wounds.

Kakashi appeared in the doorway, looming. He had easily passed through the simple lock on the door. The gray-haired nin took a step onto the cool tile floor and picked up the rubbing alcohol and dabbed a cotton ball in the smelly liquid. Grabbing the time traveler by the shoulders he forced him to sit on the counter. He dabbed the ball gently on the cuts, disinfecting them thoroughly. He grabbed several pieces of gauze and placed them over each wound, securing them with bandages.

Mumei kicked his legs gently from where he was sat on the counter. This was too reminiscent of the Kakashi that he once knew; his Kakashi. The man always tended to his wounds with a gentle hand after Sakura died. He healed quickly but the injuries still stung. A caring medic, well-trained or not, took the pain out of the wound.

“You could have asked for help,” Kakashi said even-toned.

“You had Naruto today. I figured it was a good use of my time off,” Mumei responded.

He never would have told Kakashi what he was doing. He refused to bring the man back to the place where Danzou had attempted to brainwash him. He would not bring him back to a place that had inflicted trauma on him.

Kakashi shook his head in amazement. What a goofy man. He could tell that there was more that remained unsaid and decided not to push it. One he was finished with his work, he stepped back. He was impressed that the man has managed to take on so many Root and come out relatively unscathed. There was definitely more than met the eye.

“The Uchiha are planning a coup.” Mumei said bluntly.

This was a relatively simple mission. By killing off the leaders of the Uchiha who planned the coup, they could simply cut off the head of the snake. There would be no child casualties, no innocent blood spilled, only traitors to Konoha.

“You can’t go alone,” Kakashi returned.

“I can and I will,” he turned up his nose in indignation.

“You are not familiar with Sharingan techniques, you need the help.”

“You’d be surprised,” Mumei muttered under his breath.

“What does that mean?” Kakashi asked, eyes narrowed.

“Just that I’ve fought a Sharingan wielder once or twice in my time,” Mumei’s mouth flicked upwards in a smirk, his mind awash with memories.

“Does the Hokage allow you to go by yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Well I refuse to let you go alone, you need the backup and Naruto doesn’t need to lose his uncle.”

That shut Mumei up. Kakashi was right, he needn’t take unnecessary risks in order to save the future. Kakashi was offering his help. Help that he didn’t really need, but appreciated nonetheless. He really didn’t want Kakashi putting himself in danger, but he understood why he was extending the offer. He had been placed in a position of value in Kakashi’s eyes as Naruto’s family member. If there was one thing that Naruto knew about Kakashi, it was that he wouldn’t let his comrades die.

“Fine,” Mumei acquiesced. “Call Itachi, we have some business to discuss.”

Kakashi looked at the man oddly. Itachi was his kouhai in ANBU and it was not a publicly known fact that boy was on his team or even in the secretive organization. He placed his palm over the ANBU tattoo on his left arm and channeled chakra into it. It glowed a pale red through his sleeve. The tattoo doubled as an ANBU identification mark and a communication seal, making it easy for the operatives to speak to each other throughout Konoha, coordinating their efforts to keep the village safe.

Mumei clothed himself and with Kakashi by his side, they made their way to the main gate, unlocking it to wait for the young ANBU. Crow appeared shortly after they arrived. He was dressed in the typical ANBU garb and bowed at the waist upon arrival.

“Taichou, Mumei-san” the raven-haired boy greeted.

“Maa, it’s just Kakashi now,” he returned.

“Kakashi-senpai,” Itachi adjusted.

Kakashi sighed. All his little kouhais insisted on calling him such respectful names, it was such a pain.

“Come Itachi-san, we have much to discuss,” Mumei interrupted. He made a wide sweeping motion with his hand, welcoming the Uchiha into the Namikaze compound.

Itachi narrowed his eyes in suspicion. It was odd that this new shinobi knew his name despite his mask. He stepped inside the gates anyways, trusting in Kakashi and his judgement. The three made their way inside the house, Kakashi locking the gates behind them. Mumei ensured that Naruto was still sleeping with a small wash of chakra; they did not need the youngster interrupting this conversation.

Mumei led the Uchiha into the Fuuinjutsu room which doubled as an office. He settled behind the desk and Kakashi stood to the side of him. Itachi was hesitant; it felt like he was in trouble, much like a mischievous child in the principal’s office. He removed his crow mask and placed it on the desk in front of him.

“We know about the coup,” Mumei stated bluntly.

“I-,” Itachi started but Mumei cut him off.

“We also know you are opposed to it. We need to know the key players, who is a supporter of the plan and who is simply trying to avoid being killed for insubordination.”

Itachi glanced at Kakashi who gave him a reassuring nod. The boy-turned-man listed the members in charge of the coup. He gave the locations of their houses, the family members inside to be spared, and their timetables for work in the Konoha Police if applicable.

Mumei took careful notes and plotted out a map of the city. Itachi hesitated on the last name. Fugaku. His father was complicit in the plan to overthrow the Hokage. His mother, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with it, only siding with her husband because of loyalty. Itachi did not want his father to die, but knew that he had to for the safety of the village.

Finally, he named his father.

Mumei’s list was surprisingly short. It was mostly members of the Uchiha council and high-ranking members of the Police. By slicing out the necrotic flesh, the limb could be saved; the Uchiha could be saved. The Namikaze rounded the table and ruffled raven locks.

“You did well, young Uchiha. You are saving your clan,” he reassured.

“I want to come,” Itachi blurted before he could stop himself. “I have to be the one to kill my father.”

Mumei paused. It was not entirely unexpected but he was unsure what would happen to the Uchiha if he were to kill part of his clan. He was still young, innocent even. Spilling the blood of his own father would change him. Not nearly as much as slaughtering his whole clan and scarring Sasuke, but it would definitely irreversibly change him. On the other hand, this was his family. It was only right to give him the opportunity to kill the traitors in his own clan. Mumei made eye contact with Kakashi. The two had a short but silent conversation. Kakashi agreed, he shouldn’t be involved but it was his right.

“Very well,” the blond-haired man answered. “Kakashi will take the police, I will take the civilians, and Itachi will take Fugaku.”

Both the ANBU and former captain nodded their consent.

“Tomorrow night we strike. The police will be investigating the identities of Danzou’s deceased guards. They will either be looking through ninja records or at the station, making them easy targets.”

It had been a while since Mumei had worked in a team. He felt like a bike taken out of winter storage, wheels not quite full of air, handles dusty and pieces of paint chipped and rusty. It felt exhilarating to be taken out for a ride but at the same time so very wrong .

A creak of a door caught his attention. Naruto had awoken. The boy dashed down the hallway and into the master suite, obviously expecting his uncle to be there. His absence perplexed the child and he threw himself down the stairs in search.

Kitchen? Nope. Basement? Nope. Training field? Nope. Suddenly he heard low voices coming from the weird office that nobody ever went in. He crept to the doorway and pressed his ear to the wood. He could hear his uncle and Kakashi-sensei and another voice but couldn't make out what they were saying.

“Naruto,” Mumei called loudly.

Naruto jumped at the sound of his name and slowly opened the door. His face was bright red with embarrassment over being caught eavesdropping. He stuck a hand in his sunny hair and scratched the back of his head, smiling guiltily. There was a raven-haired boy in the attire of the masked people that protected the village. He didn't look much older than him! He must be really strong , Naruto thought, I'll be that strong one day!

“Hello, Naruto-kun,” Itachi smiled kindly.

Naruto was the same age as his baby brother Sasuke. That… actually gave him an idea.

“How would you like to have my little brother Sasuke to come over to play and sleep over?”

Naruto was somewhat hesitant. He was so used to children not being allowed to play with him that he had never had any friends. He shrunk to his uncle’s side and tugged on his sleeve.

“Is that ok nii-chan?” he asked gently as if afraid of the answer.

“I think that's a great idea,” Mumei answered, placing his hand affectionately on the boy’s head.

Naruto smiled shyly at the strange older boy.

“Well, let’s walk you out, Itachi-san.”

Itachi nodded and politely waited for one of the gentlemen to open the door. Mumei obliged, holding it open for their guest. The Uchiha nodded to the Namikaze, ensuring the completion of their plot. He and Itachi left for the front gate while Kakashi took Naruto to the back yard for more training and writing.

Once they reached the front gate, Itachi and Mumei exchanged a few more words.

“Once your father is dead you will be clan leader.”

“Yes,” he sighed, revealing his worry.

“You are young but you will be a great leader,” he reassured the young man.

“Thank you, Mumei-san,” he smiled gently at the older man.

Mumei unlocked the gate for the Uchiha who donned his mask and waved goodbye before disappearing in a murder of crows. Mumei relocked the gate and went back to the Fuuinjutsu office. He began to prepare several silencing seals for the police stations, the Uchiha houses and Fugaku’s house.

The barriers were pretty simple to use but a bit complicated to make. He added in an extra matrix to prevent chakra spikes from escaping the barrier and alerting ANBU. Humming as he worked, the brush seemed to move of its own volition, painting beautifully intricate designs on the page.

He finished the batch of seals and put them in a drawer in the desk.

It would certainly be an eventful couple of days.

Translation Time

Fūton: Shinkūjin = Wind Release: Vacuum Blade

Fūton: Shinkū Renpa= Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves

Fūton: Shinkū Taigyoku = Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere

Fūton: Shinkūgyoku = Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere

Kazanami = Wind Waves

Gofuu Kekkai = Five Seal Barrier

Dokujin no Jutsu = Poison Cloud Technique

Rinkaichū = Phosphorus Destruction Insect

Kama = Sickle

Ansatsu Jutsu = Assassination Technique

Zekka Konzetsu no In = Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal

Shimura’s arm here is completely normal. Uchiha Shin is not dead so Danzou doesn’t have his arm nor Hashirama’s DNA. Therefore, he is a way easier enemy to take down. He also doesn’t  have the Sharingans because the Uchiha Massacre still hasn’t happened. Granted, he is a high-level shinobi that was being considered for a Kage position that Sarutobi beat him to. However, he is caught off-guard by the Rasengan as he believed that Kakashi and Jiraiya are the only two alive with the capability to perform the jutsu.

Also, yes I know Naruto is not an assassin. However, with his stealth he would make a great one. I have Mumei acting as an assassin in this chapter because he is a darker version of Naruto, one that has realized that he will do anything that it takes to ensure the safety of his precious people.

I know nobody seems concerned that Sarutobi doesn’t really know what’s going on but to be honest I don’t like the guy very much. He never knew what was going on in his village other than his strange orb. Besides, let’s just infer that he’s watching Naruto/Mumei some of the time and sees what he’s doing.

Thank you guys for waiting so long for the last chapter. I'm going to try to get them out every month but I'm also working on my thesis so my tine for writing is a little occupied.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9: The Uchihas

The rest of the day and night passed in a blur. Naruto diligently completed his homework with his new Sensei by his side. Mumei, on the other hand, spend his time pouring over battle plans. There was no way that he was going to make any mistakes, lose any of his precious people. He certainly couldn’t allow any of the guilty Uchiha to survive. He pushed on through the night, burning the midnight oil.

It was nearing the next morning when a certain masked shinobi entered the dimly lit office. Mumei seemed oblivious to the man’s silent entrance so Kakashi cleared his throat in an effort not to startle the older man again.

Mumei glanced upwards at the noise. He was not surprised to see Kakashi looming over the desk in disapproval. The man was always a bit of a mother hen.

“I think the plan is pretty solid,” Kakashi said gently, “it’s time to rest up.”

“Naruto will be getting up soon,” Mumei rebutted. There was no point in going to sleep when the young boy would rouse them from their slumber soon enough.

“Maybe he’ll sleep in,” the masked nin offered.

“Maybe the sun will not rise,” Mumei deadpanned.

“I’ll occupy him, you need to get some rest,” Kakashi tried again.

“I think I’ll be fine,” the elder narrowed his eyes. He knew Kakashi was just worrying about the mission, not him. Mumei missed his older version of Kakashi, the one that genuinely loved and cared about him. The one that held him at night as he re-lived his comrades’ deaths.

Kakashi had died late in the war, thankfully. Mumei wasn’t sure if he could have made it through without his almost lover. The person of today definitely wouldn’t have existed. As dark as he was, there was a much darker version that lurked under the surface.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the older man suspiciously. This wasn’t the first time that the older man had drifted off into his thoughts. It seemed like a dangerous habit. His eyes were slightly glazed, like he was eons away. He raised a foot to step forward, but before he could, blazing blue eyes pierced straight through him. His foot returned to its exact position, his muscles tensing in preparation of an attack.

Upon recognizing Kakashi, Mumei’s eyes softened. He raised his hands placatingly and stepped around the desk. He stepped around to the younger shinobi and placed his hand on Kakashi’s tense shoulder.

“You’re right, I’ll sleep for a few hours,” he murmured gently.

Kakashi softened at the touch. Something about it felt familiar… comforting. Like he never wanted it to end. Just as quickly as it had come, the touch was gone and the other nin had disappeared up the stairs to the master, silent as a ghost.

Mumei fell gracefully onto the king-sized bed, his limbs spread making him look like a starfish. Facts and figures of the Uchiha Clan ran through his head. He was never able to sleep before a big mission. At least he had the entire day with Naruto to distract him. Blue eyes blinked a few slow times before they fell closed.

Sleep did not come easy. Dreams of the past, or more accurately, the future, wracked his dreams. He saw his comrades die over and over. Each death-bringing blow, each dying breath, played again and again in his head. It was like he was above the fray, watching helplessly as each precious person was slaughtered.

Then there was Kakashi. How many times had he seen the man die now? A hundred? A thousand? It seemed endless. He had stared into his lifeless eyes so many times Mumei was sure it was all he could see from now on. Nothing but those glazed over dark gray and red eyes. It felt like his heart was pounding so fast it would burst. Never before had he felt such distress.

A scream ripped out of his throat, his body bolting upright. Mumei’s eyes ripped open. His chest heaved rapidly, like he had run himself to exhaustion. His belly bubbled, threatening to overflow. He clenched his eyelids tightly together, willing the images to go away.

Kakashi and Naruto had been practicing some chakra control techniques when the heard the gut-wrenching scream from upstairs. Both man and boy sprinted up the stairs. Kakashi’s superior leg length as well as stamina and speed allowed him to arrive much faster than Naruto. He contemplated shutting the door for a millisecond before dismissing the thought. It would only cause distress to all parties involved.

Before him the blond haired man seemed to be having a panic attack. He was breathing heavily, eyes screwed shut in anguish. Kakashi approached carefully, not wanting to startle the other man.

“It’s me,” he whispered as his hand came in contact with the blond man’s shoulder. A shudder raced through Mumei’s body.

“Please,” the other man gasped almost silently.

Kakashi eased himself onto the bed beside Mumei and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. A chill ran through both of their bodies. It was if lightning had struck where the two bodies came into contact. Both shivered.

Mumei’s body tensed but slowly relaxed into the contact. Just as the blond had sagged into the other man’s grasp, Naruto burst through the doorway. He pounced onto the bed and draped himself on the elder Namikaze.

“Are you okay, nii-chan?” Naruto asked, his voice muffled by his uncle’s shirt.

“Hai, Taiyou-chan. It was just a nightmare,” he reassured. Naruto’s head popped up, a puzzled look on his face.

“Nightmares are bad though. There is no such thing as just a nightmare,” the boy lectured. Mumei chuckled in response.

“You’re right, little one.”

Kakashi removed his arms from around the other shinobi, slightly uncomfortable about this situation. It wasn’t like him to comfort people. He was a killer through and through. Ever since his father had died he didn’t comfort anyone about anything. This new man was certainly strange; he made him feel like he needed to protect him from everything bad in the world. He had felt similarly about Rin, Obito, and Sensei, but they were all dead now.

Just as Kakashi seemed to have started a depressive spiral, Naruto, that lovely sunshine boy, pulled him back to the present. The child was dragging his uncle by the hand, urging him to get out of bed so they could play.

“Now Naruto, have you started your reading for the day?”

“Yes nii-chan!” the child twittered happily.

“Did you finish your reading?” Mumei added.

“No, nii-chan,” the boy sighed as if he were being given a life sentence.

“Maybe we can try a jutsu today since you’ve been working so hard.”

“Really?!” the boy leapt up and down excitedly, his distaste for reading long forgotten in the wake of excitement.

“After your reading,” Mumei singsonged back at Naruto.

“Fine,” Naruto replied with a staged pout that held back a face-splitting grin.

Before his uncle could change his mind, Naruto sped out of the room and down the stairs to work on his reading and writing assignments for the day. Mumei rolled his eyes playfully at the child’s antics.

An awkward tension filled the air in the child’s wake. The adults shifted uncomfortably.

“You can talk about it if you want...” Kakashi trailed off uncouthly.

“I…” Mumei started before cutting himself off. He arranged the words very carefully as to not give anything away. “It was about my friends dying. A… precious person died in my arms.”

A shiver ran down Kakashi’s spine; far too similar to his situation. To have those that you loved die in your arms was by far the worst punishment he had ever faced. It was a cruel, unimaginable fate.

“I’m sorry,” the copy nin breathed, “I know how that feels.”

Mumei bit off the ‘I know’ that followed. This was neither the time nor place to reveal how much he knew about Kakashi’s situation. Instead of responding to the other man, Mumei rose to his feet.

“Best not leave Naruto waiting long. He has a tendency to get into trouble,” Mumei urged, walking out the door. He finally let the emotions he was concealing tear across his face. Anguish. Fear. Torment. Happiness. Anger. Terror. They all took their turns as he proceeded down the staircase. As he reached the bottom he had composed himself. Mumei donned his mask, a soft smile with eyes that could never seem to match. They were hardened by grief, so much that it could seemingly never be dulled.

Kakashi proceeded down the stairs after the strange man. Nothing seemed to bite through the tough exterior that Mumei portrayed. So far only a threat to Naruto and nightmares had managed to make their way through. Admittedly, both of those things would also get to him. Kakashi decided then that he wanted to make the other man emote over him, too. Wait, what? he thought. I don’t want him to anguish over me, one side pulled, while the other screamed yes you do! You want him to love you like he loves the boy!

Kakashi was perplexed. He had missed the love and compassion of people in his life shortly after they had died, but it had been a long time since he was close to anyone. He had pushed away anyone and everyone that he could potentially care about in an act of self-preservation. Now here he was, wishing to fall into good graces with some strange man he knew next to nothing about. Part of him wanted to turn tail and run; the other half wanted to nestle down into the warmth of the feeling.

He settled for somewhere in between. Kakashi would not seek contact but he would welcome it. It had been a long time since he had been affectionately touched. His skin ached for it. An accidental brush of a hand would be enough, at least, that’s what he thought. Just a touch. Maybe a rustle of hair like the older man was so fond of doing to his young charge. Now he was getting ahead of himself.

So wrapped up in his own thoughts, Kakashi had not noticed Mumei stop at the doorway into the kitchen. He stood maybe an inch away from the elder’s back. Heat radiated off of the blond like a furnace. Kakashi wanted to reach out and warm his hands on the flame. He breathed in, then out, and then took a step back. Sunshine, blood and steel. Kakashi paused. He had smelled that somewhere before.

Mumei stopped in the doorway to watch his younger self work for a while. Nothing could have prepared him for Kakashi stopping short behind him. The young man was always attentive to his surroundings, it was unusual for him to be caught unawares. He expected the copy nin to jump away, but instead he paused and inhaled his scent. Very strange for such an aloof shinobi.

Like a strike of lightning, the memory came back to Kakashi.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

He was outnumbered ten to one. His comrades were all dead. Sparrow. Leopard. Stork. Somehow he pushed forward, managing to overcome such odds, seeking revenge for his team’s deaths. Kakashi pulled out all the stops, using his Sharingan to its full potential. However, he was on his last chidori. He felt his arm rip through a shinobi’s body and then it all went black.

Consciousness tickled his nose and eyes. Or was that… hair. There was hair in his eyes. Deep black hair was making his skin tingle where it touched. Oh how it hurt to breathe. But, something about the smell made him never want to stop inhaling. It smelled good. Like a fulfilling life. Sunshine. It represented good and warmth. Steel. A trusty blade. Blood. A product of his work as a shinobi. All in all, it smelled like, well, home. Comforted by the warmth on his chest and the smell in his nostrils, Kakashi slipped back into unconsciousness.

The smell of home tugged Kakashi by his silver locks and back into the present. He was laying on a hospital bed. The smell of antiseptic wafted through the room followed immediately by that mysterious smell. His eyes darted quickly around the room, seeking its source. He found his quarry sitting in a chair in the corner of his room.

A very plain man who he had not seen before was seated next to his hospital bed. He reached for his hitai-ate which sat on the table next to the bed and placed it over his sharingan eye. Narrowing his gray eye, he took in the sight before him. The man was, well, average. His chakra seemed average, his face was average, his eyes were average, his black hair was average. Nothing about him stood out.

Not a single scar marred his average face, leaving nothing for a memory to attach to. His hair was similar to Minato-sensei's. It stuck out at odd angles on the top and two locks of hair lept smoothly over the standard headband and framed his face. Home man was cute. Wait, did I just think that? He startled. There was absolutely nothing extraordinary about him. How the hell could he find him attractive?

It was probably tied to his scent. Kakashi's sense of smell was very well-developed, better than that of an Inuzuka. It must have been the scent that drew Kakashi to this stranger.

Suddenly, he realized that he had no shirt on. His sleeveless shirt was attached to his mask, therefore he was maskless! His hands flew to his face, but found a mask there already. Kakashi felt like he was going crazy for not the first time that day.

His sharp movement seemed to awaken the stranger, as brown-black eyes snapped open. They blinked owlishly and the man stood quickly. It took all the strength in Kakashi's body to keep from reaching out and grabbing the man's hand to force him back into the chair. What is wrong with me today? I'm definitely going crazy or this is a dream.

“Who are you?” he decided was a good line of questioning.

“Uh... Mumei,” the stranger replied. Mumei? That was a dumb name.

“Ne, why are you in my hospital room, Mumei.”

“I don't know, Hatake-san. I just wanted a place to take a nap. I'll be seeing you,” he replied, raising his hand in a salute before quickly performing a Shunshin and disappearing in smoke.

That was weird. Not so average afterall.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Kakashi grabbed hold of the lapels of the blond man’s flak jacket and whirled him around and against the wall several feet from the doorjamb. He leaned in close.

“I know who you are,” he whispered fiercely.

Mumei froze. It wasn’t possible that Kakashi knew everything, was it? He had been careful! Only jiji knew about his true identity and even then the old man could barely believe it. It wasn’t possible that Kakashi had figured it out in only a few days. Simply not possible. He relaxed his tensed muscles and leaned back into the wall, allowing Kakashi to elaborate before he jumped to any more conclusions.

“I know that you saved me in the woods,” Kakashi loomed.

“I was just passing through on my way to Konoha and saw you laying there. You were the only one left alive so I just brought you back to the hospital. You can ask Kotetsu and Izumo if you don’t believe me,” Mumei responded nonchalantly. The blond shinobi tried to avoid staring at Kakashi’s lips as they moved. They were so tantalizing, so close he could almost taste them. Cold fingers of a shudder teased their way down his spine. His shoulders trembled slightly in the effort of pushing down the shiver.

“Why were you in my room?” Kakashi pressed.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he replied sheepishly.

“How do I know you’re not lying? How do I know you’re not some kind of spy that has brainwashed the Hokage?” Kakashi brought his face closer to the Namikaze’s, their foreheads almost brushing.

Mumei brought his left hand up very slowly in a non-threatening fashion. His fingertips kissed the base of Kakashi’s skull as his thumb traced the small naruto spiral.

“I don’t lie. Not to you. Not to my family,” Mumei intoned, his hand still gently cupping Kakashi’s head. His eyes couldn’t refrain any longer. They jumped down to Kakashi’s concealed mouth. Mumei licked his lips longingly before he could catch himself.

Kakashi was rather confused. For a genius such as himself, he was not often as lost as he was right now. This man, this practical stranger, was calling him family. This man that he felt himself inexplicably drawn to. This unknown Namikaze that apparently was as drawn to him as he was to the blond.

Gloved hands slowly pulled away from their clenched handholds in Mumei’s flak jacket. He made no move to back off from his position, chest to chest with the object of his ruminations. To be perfectly honest, he was fascinated. Mumei was a puzzle wrapped in a puzzle. There were so many layers to that man he had no idea where to start. At least he had found one end of the proverbial ball of twine. Now he just had to unravel it and see what was at the center. Whether there an explosive tag or a pleasant surprise, he would have to wait and see.

Kakashi inhaled deeply one time and then pulled away, taking a full step backwards.

“My apologies,” he muttered before turning tail and stalking off to think on what this meant for him. He needed to understand fully what Mumei currently was to him. He didn’t know who he was let alone his place in this stranger and his nephew’s life.

Mumei slumped against the wall in stunned silence. Kami-sama he was a wreck. Who let him fall in love with such a broody man-child? It must have been his friends. His crush hadn’t exactly been a secret towards the end. It was hard to keep secrets when everyone was dying. People said what they had to say in case they never got the chance; except of course it was to the one person they should be saying it to.

Composing himself, Mumei pushed off from the wall and made his way back to his younger self as if nothing had happened. Yes, this, he was good at. Pretending everything was all right. Inside, he was afraid. He was terrified Kakashi would leave his Hokage-assigned post. He was overwrought that the man may leave him. Again. No, this was different. Kakashi hadn’t died in his arms, he had caught him. He knew the truth. Part of the truth, anyways.

He knew he would eventually have to tell Kakashi the whole truth, let him see the future. Oh how he wanted to protect the man he loved but he had made a vow. He would never lie to Kakashi and that man was extraordinarily bright. He would start asking questions soon enough.

Mumei came to a halt next to Naruto. The boy was sat at the breakfast nook diligently working through his reading and writing assignments. The promise of a jutsu really did wonders on his work ethic. The elder Namikaze sat down next to his young charge to assist him in his hard work. This was good. Something to keep his mind off of Kakashi.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Kakashi sat high in a tree out in the training yard. This was his favorite spot as a boy and it was still his favorite spot as a man. In his hand was a book on the history of assassination but he was too preoccupied by his thoughts to do much reading. His eyes skimmed the pages but did not register the words.

Who was Mumei? Well, the facts he knew were slim. The man claimed to be a Namikaze. When he saw him in the woods and the hospital room he had a henge on. The henge could have been for a number of reasons. The man looked strikingly like the fourth Hokage, he likely did not want to be questioned.

Why hadn’t he come forward sooner? The man seemingly came out of nowhere. One day he simply showed up. He could have come for Naruto the night his parents died, the night of the Kyuubi attack. Or at the very least soon after. Why wait so many years? Where had the man been for all those years?

There were so many questions and so few answers. He compiled a list of everything he knew about Namikaze Mumei.

Trusted by the Hokage. Proficient in henges. Proficient in fuuinjutsu. Proficient in Futon techniques. Jounin level. No record in Bingo book. Adores Naruto. Cares for and trusts Kakashi. Went through a tragic event that ended in the loss of many precious people.

He knew everything that matters and yet absolutely nothing at all. What had happened to that man to give him nightmares like he had?

Kakashi growled and tried to concentrate on his book. Oh, he was an an interesting part about kekkei genkai and their uses in assassinations. Interesting and relevant to him.

But what was it about the man that drew him in. I guess there’s no reading today , Kakashi thought with a resigned sigh. He snapped the book shut after noting the page he was on and slipped it into his weapons pouch.

Something about his smell reminded him of home. Was it because of his youth as a child soldier? Did blood and steel really remind him of safety and happiness? It couldn’t be. What a confusing situation. He felt drawn yet repulsed. He knew nothing about this man, why would Kakashi be so intrigued? Was it because he was a puzzle to solve? Was he that damaged?

When Mumei and Naruto exited the kitchen door to the training grounds, Kakashi pulled out his book again; he didn’t want to appear as if he was watching them. In reality, his full attention was on the Namikaze duo.

Naruto was settled on the ground in front of his uncle, a look of concentration adorned his youthful face. Something about that child with his gemstone eyes and firey golden hair had wedged him deep in Kakashi’s heart. Maybe it was the child’s parentage that made Kakashi hold him in such high esteem. No… that was a disservice to the boy. He was his own person, his own brilliant shining light.

Mumei carefully instructed the child in a series of hand seals that he could scarcely see from his position in the tree as the man’s broad back was turned towards him.

Naruto mimicked his teacher with clunky hand seals, truly attempts of an unpracticed child. Kakashi sometimes wished that he hadn’t graduated from the academy so young. His childhood was wasted in a pool of blood. He was who he was because of his history, though, so he could not begrudge his deceased father and sensei.

Tiger → Boar → Ox → Dog → Snake

Kawarimi no Jutsu. A fitting first technique for a child. It was one of the three jutsus taught in the Academy. However, it was unusual for a child to start learning techniques at such a young age. Typically the younger years were spent on conditioning the body, assuring that the youth would stay in prime condition to fight their future battles.

The child flipped through the seals one at a time, gradually growing faster in his attempts. His hands grew surer and more deft with each passing try. Mumei brought over a log and placed it several feet in front of the boy. It was obvious that he wanted him to switch places with the log. Logs were by far the easiest item to substitute places with. Trees were plentiful in the forest and a log or stick would be easy to locate within the outskirts of Konoha. Some worshipped the log for its life-granting abilities, its usefulness in the face of adversity. Kakashi did not quite worship, but he did appreciate its usefulness. Kawarimi no Jutsu had saved his ass on multiple occasions.

A tidal wave of chakra rushed from the boy in all directions. The hairs on Kakashi’s entire body stood on end. He certainly had powerful reserves but not nearly enough control. That was something they would definitely have to work on before he learned another Jutsu. Kawarimi was harmless enough, but overpowering any other Jutsu could have devastating effects.

Kakashi watched idly as Naruto practiced and Mumei supervised. Or rather, Mumei sat crisscross a few meters behind the log with his eyes shut. He seemed to be meditating but Kakashi could feel his surprisingly vast reserves of chakra washing over everything. The foreign chakra caressed his skin, floated through the trees and between every blade of grass.

He assumed that the Namikaze was investigating every cranny of what he now called his own. In reality, Mumei was enjoying the feeling of his chakra interacting with Kakashi’s. He has missed the playful banter of the Hatake’s white chakra against his own red/blue mixture. It was a pleasant feeling that filled him with warmth. He wondered if Kakashi felt the same about their mingled essence.

Kakashi flicked through his book with practiced ease. He had never felt this good reading a book before. His entire body felt alight with happiness. It was an odd sensation. All at once, the feeling dissipated. Mumei stood up and began practicing katas instead of meditating.

Kakashi paused on his page. Was that warm feeling because of Mumei’s chakra? How very odd , he thought. He had not felt happy like that in a very long time. Not since his team had died. Maybe even before that, when his father was still alive. Either way, it was something he had not encountered in many years. Another thing to add to his list of questions and facts. Very potent chakra.

The copy nin watched the other man very carefully from his perch. His style was fluid and graceful but very unpredictable. It appeared to be a combination of academy style, frog kata and a mixture of other styles that he had seen only from comrades. A very odd man indeed. Where had he picked up moves from Maito Gai? Another question and fact. Proficient in several styles of taijutsu.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

The rest of the day passed quickly and it became time for Itachi to drop Sasuke off. A booming ring pierced the air alerting the compound’s inhabitants that the Uchiha brothers had arrived. Naruto raced enthusiastically for the gate while Mumei followed at a more sedate pace. Kakashi chose to enter the house and lounge on the couch with his book.

“Took you long enough!” Naruto yelled as he bounced up and down by the seal gate.

“You can open this too, but never do it without an adult, okay?” Mumei told the boy. Naruto’s eyes widened with excitement.

“Really?!” he shouted for all to hear. If Mumei wasn’t sure that the sound barrier was in place he would have been sure that all of Konoha could have heard his screech.

“Yes, but remember! Never without an adult!” Mumei reiterated.

“Okay! Can I let them in now?” the boy continued, now bounding around in a circle around his uncle.

“Sure. You just bite your finger to draw blood, then place it on the matrix,” he guides charge, miming the movements that he would need to perform.

Naruto quickly bit his finger, unconcerned by the pain and places his tiny palm over the matrix as his uncle had. The gate swung open and Itachi and Sasuke appeared on the other side.

Itachi was wearing his ANBU gear, obviously ready to leave from the compound to carry out their deadly task once Sasuke was settled in. The boy, on the other hand, was dressed in a light blue tunic with the Uchiha emblem on the back. Black shorts completed the look. Mumei was taken aback. He didn’t remember Sasuke being this adorable as a child. He only could remember the angry brooding boy that has lost his entire family. He decided that he liked this version of his brother-in-bond much better.

Sasuke’s mouth dropped open in awe. He had never seen such intricate seal work before! For an entire compound to appear invisible was incredible to him. His grasp on his brother’s hand tightened. Sasuke didn’t exactly have any friends and he was hesitant to make a new one.

Naruto pranced over to his age-mate and gave him a beaming grin.

“Do you wanna play ninja?” he inquired hopefully.

Sasuke’s eyes widened again. Ninja was his favorite game. He wanted to be just like his big brother when he grew up and that meant lots of practice. He glanced up at his brother in silent question.

“Go on,” Itachi said with a smile.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke’s other hand and dragged him out into the training field.

“Now then, Itachi-san, shall we head inside?” Mumei inquired of the 12-year-old.

Itachi responded with a nod of his head and the duo proceeded into the house. They were greeted by Kakashi with a silent wave of his hand. Quietly the three of them entered the fuuinjutsu room turned war room. Mumei created a shadow clone to keep an eye on the youngsters while the shinobi got down to business.

Mumei bit his finger and put his hand on a seal matrix on the wall. A sound barrier glowed to life around the chamber.

“Do you have the full list?” he inquired of the pre-teen.

“Hai,” Itachi responded. He withdrew a scroll from a pouch and unrolled it on the desk. “I will take care of any new additions as I know where they live.”

“Very well. Kakashi and I will each take care of our third. Are you sure you want to take your father’s life?” Mumei asked, concerned about Itachi’s mental health after the fact.

“He has brought our entire clan shame. I will be glad to be rid of him,” the boy-turned-man answered, completely monotone.

Mumei was concerned about the young ANBU member; it was not a simple task to kill a loved one.

“I can take care of him just as easily,” he offered.

“No, he is my responsibility,” Itachi said with narrowed eyes.

“Okay, okay,” Mumei placated with raised hands and a smile. “Let’s finish up these plans so we can check on those boys.”

The soon-to-be-assassins finished up their game plan and went over it several times. They would leave at midnight. Kakashi was to take care of the on duty and off duty police officers that has decided to take part in the coup. Mumei’s targets were the council members. Itachi had the responsibility of taking the life of his father and the other shinobi that were part of the plot.

“Aaah perfect timing! The kids just dismissed my shadow clone,” Mumei chuckled as they finished up going over the plan.

“How did they manage that,” Kakashi chortled back.

“Some team sparring and a well-placed kunai it seems,” he volleyed back with a sparkle in his eye. He had been sparring at genin level which made it impressive that the two young boys had managed to get a hit in.

Mumei disappeared with a seal-less Shunshin and appeared out next to the boys.

Kakashi rolled his eyes at his partner’s sudden disappearance.

“He gets a little excited about training,” he informed Itachi.

“I see that. He trapped us in the sound barrier,” Itachi said, quite amused.

Kakashi laughed and bit a finger, placing his hand on the matrix.

“Don’t worry, I’m coded in,” Kakashi reassured him. “Now then, let’s go see what treats he’s promised them for their achievements.”

“He does realize two sugar-high kids don’t fit into our battle plan, right?” Itachi inquired nervously.

“Aah they’ll be fine. They’ll come down off the sugar high and pass out for the whole night.”

“You sound like you’ve experienced this before,” Itachi asked now even more worried.

“Mumei’s thing is rewards through treats. I don’t know where he gets it from,” Kakashi laughed.

“We better hurry then,” Itachi urged.

The duo disappeared in a Shunshin and appeared behind the excited trio.

“This means Anmitsu for dinner!” Mumei told them excitedly.

The boys hopped up and down in excitement for their sweet reward. Sasuke’s eyes caught sight of his older brother and he raced over to meet him.

“Did Mumei-san tell you? We dispelled his clone!” Sasuke informed his brother proudly.

“Well done!” Itachi praised the boys.

“Let’s go eat dinner!” Mumei encouraged the group.

“Yaaay!” the boys cheered.

Kakashi rolled his eyes again while Itachi looked on in amusement. Mumei sprinted for the house with the kids close behind him, running as fast as their short little legs could take them.

Translation Time

Kawarimi no Jutsu = Substitution Technique

Anmitsu = a dessert made of agar jelly

Chapter Text

Chapter 10: The Uchiha Massacre

Mumei tucked the boys into Naruto’s toad bed gently and kissed them goodnight. They looked so adorable. Naruto has snuggled up with his toad plushie and Sasuke was sucking his thumb like his life depended on it. He took a mental snapshot and promised himself he would never forget the image in front of him now.

As soon as Mumei exited the boys’ room, his soft smile turned into a hard line. It was time. The midnight hour.

Down the stairs he went, meeting Kakashi and Itachi by the door. They all had on ANBU standardized uniforms and a bird mask as well as hoods. They had a mission to carry out and they were fully prepared.

Mumei created two shadow clones, one of himself and one of Kakashi to sit in the living room in case one of the boys got up. Each took up a book on strategy and settled down for the night.

The trio exited the compound and took to the roofs, moving in a line formation with Mumei at the helm.

They quickly arrived at the Uchiha compound. Kakashi took off for the police barracks while Itachi and Mumei split up inside the compound.

— VIOLENCE —

Important info will be summarized at the end of the chapter.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Kakashi

The masked copy nin took off towards the Konoha Military Police Force Headquarters.

All of his targets were out on patrol tonight as the overwhelming majority of them were simple foot soldiers. Partners to boot. It was interesting how similar types of people often got partnered up together.

Coming to rest on a shop rooftop, he spotted his first targets.

Uchiha Inabi, Yashiro and Tekka were strolling down the road laughing about something inane. Probably a citizen that they had terrorized, Kakashi surmised. The trio were well known for their straightforward and often offensive behavior.

Kakashi lured then into an alley with a soft trill. He felt a little guilty killing good cops but he valued loyalty to village above all else. He knew what he needed to do.

He dropped a pre-made sound and visibility barrier into the alley once the trio had entered to investigate. Inabi and Yashiro went in to investigate while Tekka stood guard near the entrance and provided cover.

Kakashi ended their lives with three well-placed kunai. Each hit their target with a sickening thunk. Bodies slumped to the floor and Kakashi descended to clean up his mess.

He sealed the bodies in a stasis seal and pulled cleaning supplies out of another. There was very little blood but he scrubbed it with a heavy duty cleaner and scattered around some rubble from the alley over the cleaned areas.

Kakashi took down the barriers and took off for his next targets.

Uchiha Yakumi was next. The man assisted Fugaku in his duties so he knew very well what was going on within his clan. He was fiercely loyal to his people but not his village. Yakumi was one of the leaders of the coup movement and it was now time for his death.

Yakumi was located inside the Headquarters and was considerably harder to get to. However, Kakashi had the upper hand. He had blueprints and photos.

Arriving at the main Police Barracks, Kakashi dropped silently onto the roof, avoiding the view of the guards that were on lookout duty. He made his way over to the roof of Yakumi’s office. He plastered a sound and visibility barrier on the area above the office and paused. He reaches out with his chakra, ensuring that his target was in the room below. Affirmative.

Kakashi activated his seals and used a Shunshin to enter the office. As he knew exactly where it was and what it looked like, it was easy as pie.

Yakumi looked up from his paperwork at the intrusion but it was too late. A kunai has already left Kakashi’s hand. It embedded itself in the traitor’s trachea. He gasped for air, hands reaching for purchase on the offending weapon. He grasped it and pulled it from his neck. This was a fatal error. The kunai acted as a cork and as he pulled it from the wound, air rushed out of the hole. A soft whistling and choking was all that could be heard in the room.

Kakashi stalked forward and began his cleanup as the man asphyxiated in front of him. 10 minutes was all it took. 2 minutes before unconsciousness and than an additional 8 to ensure brain death.

Kakashi busied himself looking through documents that proved the coup and securing them in a separate seal. Once his target was dead, Kakashi sealed him away with the other bodies.

He Shunshined back to the roof to remove his seals, the office left spotless in his wake.

Kakashi went on to kill an additional 17 men and women that were complicit in the plot.

Uchiha Yukichi, Uchiha Nobuhito, Uchiha Hisayuki, Uchiha Momuami, Uchiha Okimi, Uchiha Rokuko, Uchiha Botan, Uchiha Mokichi, Uchiha Kojuro, Uchiha Kokei, Uchiha Akane, Uchiha Tokie, Uchiha Tomiji, Uchiha Keitaro, Uchiha Nori, Uchiha Haruka, and Uchiha Wakuza. All deceased and sealed away.

Kakashi was so efficient that it only took him 4 hours to kill all his targets. Approximately 11 minutes per target was all he needed.

He had managed to gather many documents pertaining to the coup and he looked forward to piecing together the whole picture. For now, he had another task at hand. Burying the bodies.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Itachi

Itachi arrived at his clan compound with Mumei by his side. His first target was his father Fugaku. He wanted to get the hardest kill out of the way.

He navigated his way through the buildings and towards his family home. A figure appeared in front of him. He wielded a kunai in each hand, ready for a fight.

“It’s me,” the figure whispered.

Itachi stepped closer to investigate. Shisui.

“What are you doing?” Itachi inquired.

“What am I doing? What are you doing?” Shisui asked suspiciously.

“What needs to be done. There are traitors in our home.”

“I know,” Shisui whispered forlornly.

“Are you…” Itachi trailed off, concerned that he would have to kill his best friend.

“No, no! They asked me to spy on you. I couldn’t bring myself to do it,” Shisui reassured him.

“Thank you, but I have work to do,” he told his lifelong friend.

“Okay, just be careful,” Shisui urged him.

“I always am.”

With that, Itachi took off for his home. It was time.

He stepped through the front door, dancing around the creaky spots on the floor and headed towards his parents bedroom. Inside he found his mother and father sleeping peacefully. He creeped closer, standing at the foot of their bed.

“Kneel,” he snarled.

Fugaku and Mikoto woke with a start.

“I said kneel, Father,” he repeated.

“What is this?” Fugaku asked of his eldest son.

“This? This is your execution for crimes against your village.”

“You know?” Fugaku inquired.

“Of course I know,” Itachi fulminated.

Mikoto sat there looking shocked.

“Know what?” she cried. “What’s going on, Itachi?”

“Father has been scheming. A coup d'etat. Are you complicit?” he turned his attention to his mother.

“She knows nothing,” Fugaku said, the loving husband to his dying breath.

“Kneel,” he stated again.

Fugaku rose and obeyed his son.

“I’m sorry, my son. I did what I thought was best.”

“No, you did what you thought was best for you ,” he fumed.

Itachi stood behind his father, suddenly tall for his 12 years.

“Goodbye, Father.”

Itachi places one hand on his father's chin and the other on the back of his head and swiftly broke his neck. The crack broke the rest of Itachi’s grasp on childhood.

It was painless. A good death.

Mikoto crawled out of bed and onto the floor next to her beloved.

“How could you?” she sobbed, pulling his limp head to her chest.

“I’m sorry, Mother.”

“You’re not my son. Itachi could have never done this,” her cries muffled by her husbands hair.

“Give me his body. He must be buried,” Itachi said with no emotion. He had lost both his mother and father in one fell swoop.

“No no no no!” she blubbered uncontrollably.

Itachi pulled his father from his mother’s grasp, leaving her in a heap on the floor, bawling. He sealed his father’s body in a stasis scroll and left his mother there, alone, to mourn both her husband and son.

His eyes burned. Were they tears? Itachi blinked again and again. His hands scratched at his lids. Finally he opened them and the burning had stopped. He pulled the hand from his face and he knew. Mangekyou Sharingan.

Itachi mindlessly killed the rest of his guilty clansmen. Bukijutsu and Shurikenjutsu were his main weapons. It was easy. Child’s play. The slight-of-hand that Shisui had taught him came in handy.

Kami-sama it was easy. A slash here, a shuriken there. They all fell. The cleanup was the worst. Scrubbing his clansmen’s blood was a grueling task. All he could focus on was the color. The color of his eyes. His Sharingan was blood red. It was fitting. A kekkei genkai used for death should be a bloody red.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Mumei

Mumei moved through the clan compound in amazement. He has only seen it as a ghost town. Even now, with its people asleep, it seemed alive.

He slipped from building to building. Civilian casualties were his task. They were the most innocent so it was arguably the hardest task. Luckily there was no need for killing children this time. Only the guilty were to be harmed. No Jutsu were needed, just a simple kunai or shuriken would do the job.

He slipped into the first house. Uchiha Jun. He had a wife and three children. Undoubtedly he was part of this plan for them, so they could be royalty. Instead he would be murdered in his sleep.

Mumei skated into the master bedroom. He placed a sleep seal on the wife’s forehead with a delicate touch. Attention shifted to the husband. Jun. He looked peaceful. Unaware. He sighed and placed another sleep seal on the man’s forehead. He needn’t feel any pain. He dragged the man from his bed and held him over a bucket. Mumei gently severed his carotid arteries with a kunai and held him to bleed out into the bucket.

It took less than a minute for Jun to die. At least he felt no pain. Mumei sealed up the body and blood and went to remove the sleep seal from the wife.

He heard tiny footsteps pattering down the hall and stopped outside the door. He snatched the seal off the woman’s head.

“Meisaigakure no Jutsu,” he whispered, holding up the tiger hand seal. Mumei backed up to the wall just as the child burst through the door.

“Tou-chan! Kaa-san!” The little girl tried, flinging herself onto her parents’ bed.

Her mother woke with a start, wrapping the 3-year-old in her arms. She moved to wake up her husband but found the bed empty. Odd. Maybe he had to use the bathroom, she surmised, thinking nothing of it. Mumei moved for the door silently.

Just as he was about to make it out into the hallway, the floor beneath him cracked. The wife’s eyes jolted up, expecting to see someone there. There was nothing, so she shrugged it off. It’s an old house , she thought.

Mumei held his breath and stepped out into the hallway. Still camouflaged he Shunshined to the roof and breathed out a sigh of relief. That could have ended very poorly .

Mumei slipped back into the night, ending the lives of many. In total he killed 26 civilians. It was tough work but someone had to do it.

He descended to the graveyard. It lay past all the houses, away from the river as well as any houses. He made many shadow clones and sent them to dig graves. It was time.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Mumei was already digging graves by the time Itachi and Kakashi met up with him. They had their stasis seals full of bodies and clean up materials and were ready to deposit the bodies in their designated graves.

It seemed kind of sick, but Mumei had prepared every ounce of the operation down to gravestones with names for each of the deceased. There was no mention of traitor on the graves but everyone would know the truth soon enough.

Kakashi and Itachi helped the clones bury each body the required 6 ft under so that animals couldn’t get to them. It was a distinguished burial, better than many of them deserved. In all, 64 Uchiha had died that night. It was drastically better than what it could have been. What it should have been.

— END VIOLENCE —

When dawn broke, the three weary shinobi formed a line once again and made their way to the Hokage tower. The Sandaime knew what was to happen that night so he would surely be in his office.

The trio arrived via window, their clothes dirt and blood covered. They removed their masks and kneeled respectfully in front of their superior.

“Thank you for your service. You may rise. What documents have you acquired?” the Hokage inquired.

“Full documentation of the coup, Hokage-sama,” Itachi spoke up. The trio proffered their findings and laid them on the desk.

“The 64 traitors have been executed and laid to rest,” Mumei offered.

“I’m sorry you had to do this, but your actions are deeply appreciated. You have saved hundreds of Uchiha their lives. They will understand.”

Itachi hung his head. He was not sure he would ever be forgiven by his mother let alone his clan.

“Itachi, you are now Clan Head. Choose your own council that you are sure of,” the Hokage advised.

“I will, Hokage-sama. Thank you,” Itachi bowed his head respectfully.

“Now then. The three of you need some rest. Dismissed.”

The three murderers donned their masks and flew out the window. They still has business to attend to and miles to go before they could sleep. Itachi had a clan to run and Kakashi and Mumei had young boys to take care of.

The bird-masked men took off in their own directions.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Kakashi and Mumei arrived back at the compound in good time. The boys were still fast asleep in bed, as expected. The men sagged into the couches in the living room and Mumei dismissed his clones.

“When do you think the Hokage is going to announce the deaths?” Kakashi inquired of his companion.

“Sometime soon. The police will be freaking out with all the disappearances,” Mumei offered.

“I don’t know how Itachi is going to break the news to Sasuke,” Kakashi sighed. “I know I couldn’t bear to do it.”

“Mmmm me neither. Telling someone that their father has been killed because he was a traitor is not something I’d ever like to do in my lifetime,” Mumei mused.

Both men felt a subtle shift upstairs. The boys were awake. Mumei rose to make breakfast.

He shuffled around in the kitchen, reheating some gohan and miso shiru. He also prepared some natto, yakizakana, tsukemono, nori and kobachi. He set out all the dishes on the table and waited for the boys to race down the stairs.

The thundering steps of 4 tiny feet finally made their way down the stairs and to the kitchen. Mumei steeled his expression and welcomed the young boys with an enormous hug.

The two men and two children sat down at the table for breakfast and had started to dig in when Naruto had an announcement to make.

“I’ve decided!” he yelled, “Sasuke is my best friend!”

Sasuke blushed a bright red.

“You’re my best friend, too,” he murmured, staring down at his dishes.

Inside, Mumei and Kakashi were screaming like little fangirls. They were so adorable. Both men wished they had friends like that when they were young. The two had taken to each other like fish to water and had already built up a great repore. Their teamwork was something else, too. Mumei knew there was something missing but that would be fixed soon enough.

Once breakfast was finished and the dishes were done, the four went outside to do a little training. Kakashi, as usual, took a book and climbed up to his perch. Sasuke looked pretty amazed by this and requested to be taught how to do it. Naruto quickly joined in and the duo’s puppy dog eyes were too much.

Kakashi explained how tree-walking worked to the boys and they started practicing immediately. Neither of them were making it very far, but both adults were having a ball watching them try their best. Kakashi went back to his book but kept a careful eye on the two. Mumei on the other hand was back to practicing his katas while watching like a hawk. Nothing was happening to those boys on his watch.

Sasuke and Naruto had managed to run up 10 feet by the time the gate doorbell rang. Sasuke sighed, knowing it was time for him to go. Naruto’s face grew sad. He didn’t want to say goodbye to his new best friend quite yet.

“Sasuke, you can come over tomorrow if you want,” Mumei offered, “you’re always welcome here.”

Sasuke and Naruto beamed at the blond man in response to that tidbit. They grabbed each other’s hands and ran for the gate. Mumei was not far behind although he chose a slower gait.

Naruto waited diligently until his guardian was there and then unlocked the door. Itachi wore a grim look on his face.

“They made the announcement,” he deadpanned. “Sasuke, I need to talk to you. Something bad has happened.”

Sasuke ran to his older brother and hugged him around the waist.

“You can talk inside the house,” Mumei offered, “it’s better he knows before you go outside.”

Itachi grasped his little brother’s hand tightly in his own and led him into the house without another word.

Mumei crouched down and drew Naruto up to himself and broke the news.

“Sasuke and Itachi’s dad died last night. He and some of the clan were going to do a very bad thing so they had to be stopped,” he told the boy gently.

Naruto had never met Sasuke’s family but he started bawling anyway. The boy was very empathetic. He had never had a family of his own so he knew what it was like to be alone. He didn’t want that for Sasuke, not his best friend.

Mumei comforted Naruto for about 10 minutes. He could feel emotions radiating from the house. Anger and sadness were prominent. Sasuke and Itachi stalked out of the house shortly after Naruto had stopped crying.

The boy’s tears began anew at the sight of his proclaimed best friend and he ran to the raven haired boy and scooped him into a hug as big as his tiny arms could muster.

“I’m sorry about your dad,” he whispered.

“I’m not,” Sasuke stated coldly, “he was a traitor.”

“You can still love someone even if they did a bad thing,” Naruto responded in part.

“But he did a really bad thing,” Sasuke grumbled.

“Maybe one day you can forgive him but it’s okay if it’s not today,” Mumei cut in before things got too heated.

“Definitely not today,” Sasuke snarked.

“It’s time to go, Sasu,” Itachi said with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Bye Naruto, bye Mumei-san,” the boy said sullenly.

Itachi and Sasuke walked out the gate. Mumei could feel the whispers, feel the stares, from where he stood. It reminded him of his childhood, frankly. It was an unpleasant feeling.

He crouched down next to Naruto again.

“You know, whatever they say about Sasuke, it isn’t true. They’re just angry at his family. Sasuke didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I know,” Naruto responded, “people say all sorts of mean things about me but they’re not true. I don’t believe anything unless it’s straight from the source.”

“You’re a very smart boy,” Mumei smiled.

“Thanks, nii-chan,” the boy beamed at his uncle.

“Come on, let’s get you out to the training field. I want to see how far you can get up that tree.”

Translation Time

Bukijutsu = use of weaponry in battle

Shurikenjutsu = technique of throwing shuriken, senbon or kunai

Meisaigakure no Jutsu = Hiding with Camouflage Jutsu

Gohan = cooked rice

Miso siru = miso soup

Natto = fermented bean paste

Yakizakana = broiled fish

Tsukemono = pickled vegetables

Nori = seasoned dried seaweed

Kobachi = vegetable sides

Note: I don’t actually know if the real Uchiha members were in on the coup. Most are OCs I made up just to be killed but some are canon characters. I have no clue if they were in on it. I just needed names to kill off.

And yes I made Shunshin a verb.

Violence section summary!

Kakashi is a total badass. Itachi destroys his childhood and his mother’s heart. No seriously Mikoto is gonna have a real hard time after this. Shisui is alive and chilling. He’s on board with the whole massacre the traitors thing. Mumei is kicking ass and taking names. All the Uchihas are buried because that’s respectful and I mean they were still Itachi’s family.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11: The Aftermath

Sasuke did not show up the next day. Or the next. Naruto and his guardians started to become concerned about the raven-haired boy. The children had taken to each other quickly and it was strange that the Uchiha had not come over at all since the massacre. Maybe he was mourning. Maybe he was afraid of what they would think of him.

Mumei decided to take Naruto and pay them a home visit. 

Naruto skipped happily alongside his uncle, not a care in the world. He was thrilled that he got to see his best friend today. He had finally figured out how to do the tree climbing thingy and he couldn’t wait to show it off!

Once they had arrived at the Uchiha compound, Mumei was disappointed to see that slurs had been written on the fences and walls. Traitor, pig and other words were written in paint.

“Naru, I know you’re really good at painting, do you know how to get it back off?” Mumei asked, although he already knew the answer.

“Yeah! Paint stripper! It’s super effective! We can go buy some!” he cheered at the prospect of a new adventure.

“Smart lad. Let’s go get some paint stripper and fix this fence up, ne?”

“Okay!” The boy grabbed his guardian’s hand and pulled him into the nearest shop that sold paint stripper and they bought enough to take care of the whole fence.

“What do you think? White paint too to fix it after we strip off the paint?” Mumei asked.

“Yeah!” Naruto cheered.

With their purchases in tow, the Namikaze duo went back to the Uchiha compound and got to paint stripping. They worked diligently for several hours and then repainted the fence. 

The whole time they were there, Mumei did not see a single Uchiha leave the compound. Usually they were always coming and going, but today that didn’t seem to be the case. Maybe they were mourning. Or maybe they were hiding.

The duo strode up to the guards at the gate and informed them of their intentions to see Itachi and Sasuke. The guards looked at them suspiciously but checked a list of names and allowed them to pass. It seemed that they had beefed up security. Mumei wondered if it was because of the attack or if there was retaliation from villagers.

Mumei guided Naruto to the correct house. Nobody stopped to question him. Nobody was even in the streets. They were all tucked inside their houses.

Upon reaching the right Uchiha abode, Naruto knocked loudly on the door. 

Itachi appeared at the other side of the door promptly and let the two inside.

“Where’s Sasuke?” Naruto asked loudly.

“He’s with our Mother,” Itachi sighed. Mumei sensed there was more to the story.

“Naruto, why don’t you go find Sasuke, I’m sure he’d be glad to see you,” Itachi motioned the boy off in the correct direction.

Once Naruto was out of earshot, Itachi leaned in to talk to Mumei.

“She hasn’t eaten or slept. She just stares at where he died. Whenever I come into the room she screams. She doesn’t talk to anyone, not even Sasuke. He just sits near her.”

“We’ll try and take him home with us. See if he comes out of his shell a little more,” Mumei mused.

“Thank you,” Itachi sighed. “I’ve been so busy with the clan and damage control that I haven’t had a chance to really talk to him.”

“We’ll take him off your hands during the day. Naruto misses him.” 

“Thanks Mumei-san. I owe you,” 

“Nah, don’t worry about it, we like the squirt,” Mumei reassured him.

“What’s taking them so long?” Itachi moaned.

“I’ll go check on them,” Mumei said gently.

Mumei sauntered down the hallway towards where he knew the master bedroom to be. In the hallway, he spotted Naruto and Sasuke talking. The raven-haired boy seemed to be crying and he didn’t want to interrupt. He took a step back and leaned against the wall around the corner of the corridor. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop but who was he to deny himself a little overhearing?

“She screams whenever Itachi comes in the room, I don’t know what that means,” Sasuke whispered to Naruto.

“Maybe… Itachi did it,” Naruto returned the whisper.

“I hope he did,” Sasuke said in a normal tone. “C’mon let’s go to your house. I don’t wanna be here anymore.”

At that, Mumei popped around the corner and pretended to act surprised.

“There you guys are! Are you ready to go?” he asked enthusiastically.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke’s hand and pulled him over to his uncle.

“Yep!” he sang.

The trio headed back towards Itachi. Sasuke ran over to his big brother and gave him a big hug. All of Itachi’s worries about his little brother hating him washed away. 

“Be good,” he lectured with a poke to the younger boy’s forehead once they had pulled away.

“I always am,” Sasuke giggled. He picked up Naruto’s hand and walked towards the door. 

They exited the main house and made their way out the gate with Sasuke in tow. The boys skipped merrily in front of Mumei.

Then, the whispers started. The stares began. All eyes were on the ‘traitor’ Uchiha and ‘demon’ Uzumaki. Sasuke’s smile faded but Naruto seemed oblivious. Of course, the child had grown up with this, of course he was used to it.

“I heard that the Three Mourning Doves killed his father,” one villager whispered.

Three Mourning Doves? Oh shit I think they mean Itachi, Kakashi and me. Mumei realized.

“I heard it was the older one Ita-something.”

“Maybe he’s part of the Three Mourning Doves!”

What a stupid name, but oddly fitting , Mumei thought. Someone must have seen the trio bouncing on rooftops the night of the massacre. They had not attempted to hide their presence, simply their identities, that’s why they had worn the masks and hoods.

Mumei made a point of staring down every single villager that dared point or glare or stare. Whispers were silenced. Gazes averted. 

Sasuke picked up on this fact and was back to his bouncing happy self in no time flat. The boys chattered idly about anything and everything. They learned everything little boys wanted to know about each other. Their favorite colors, their favorite foods, their fears, their favorite things.  Mumei took careful notes of everything as he was sure it would be useful later. You could never discount even the smallest bit of information. You never knew what could come in handy.

Finally, they arrived back at the Namikaze compound. Mumei stopped Naruto before he could open the gate.

“Let’s code you in, Sasuke, so you can come over whenever you want, ne?” he said with a grin.

Mumei bit his finger and placed it in the matrix to disable the security mechanism.

“Okay, draw blood and give me a little bit of it,” he instructed. Mumei pulled out several paints from a seal and set to work adding another blood seal to the lock mechanism. Sasuke did as instructed and Mumei took a bit of blood from the Uchiha and painted the appropriate swirls and lines with it. Just like that, Sasuke was in.

“All set! Why don’t you try it out,” he encouraged.

Sasuke placed his still bloody hand on the locking mechanism and the gate swung open, welcoming its new keyholder. Sasuke positively beamed. Naruto pulled the other boy through the gate and out to the training field so he could show off his new trick. Sasuke pouted but was a good sport. He swore that he would catch up to Naruto no matter what and took off running at the trees.

Naruto giggled and chased after his friend.

“Naru! Try balancing a leaf on your nose as you do the tree climbing!” Mumei called after the blond boy. 

“Okay!” the boy called back excitedly.

The next few days went on similarly. Sasuke stayed at the Namikaze compound during the day and Itachi walked him back at night. Sasuke mastered the tree walking exercise and both boys were practicing holding multiple leaves on their body while climbing the tree.

This had led to several hilarious disasters in which overzealous children fell out of very tall trees. It was a good thing that Mumei had some medical training from his timeline's Sakura or else the boys would have been too sore to move.

One day, however, Sasuke refused to leave. He was happier at the Namikaze compound and he didn’t want to see his mother any longer. He informed his best friend that she seemed not to care about him or his brother at all anymore. Itachi was very busy with clan business and had been forced to quit ANBU in order to deal with their state of affairs. He certainly didn’t have time to raise his younger brother.

So it came to be that Sasuke lived at the Namikaze compound with his best friend and new guardians. Sasuke’s favorite animal was unsurprisingly a snake so Mumei and Kakashi decked the Uchiha’s new room with snake-themed gear. Snake comforter, snake sheets, snake wall coverings, snake plushies, anything that could be a snake was a snake. They even went back to the store that sold those onesies and picked out a snake one for Sasuke. The boy was positively thrilled.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

The next few weeks flew by in a haze of training. Sakura and the other children started at the Academy but Naruto and Sasuke stayed out, preferring the tutelage of their guardians. Kakashi taught Sasuke about the sharingan while Mumei taught Naruto about fuuinjutsu. They learned about the history of Konoha and what it meant to be shinobi. They practiced their writing, Naruto’s level having nearly caught up with Sasuke’s. They practiced their chakra control and conditioned their bodies for taijutsu. To be precise, they worked hard.

Kakashi and Mumei sparred from time to time, never going all out. The boys watched in awe. The two men became closer friends. It felt like there was something more but neither were ready to push past the carefully constructed boundaries that they had put in place. Kakashi wasn’t fully trusting of Mumei and Mumei was wary of revealing too much. They made an odd pair.

Mumei had finally hashed out exactly how he was going to abduct Sakura. Maybe abduct was too harsh of a word. Take from her family and transplant into their ragtag crew? Not much better. Either way, she would be re-joining their family.

This particular operation required some finesse, so Mumei did what any sane shinobi would do; forge the Hokage’s signature. Yes, he could have gone through the proper channels but that took time. Besides, it wasn’t like the old man was really paying much attention to the village. So, with his forged document in hand, he went to the Haruno household.

Mumei looked every bit the part of a commanding jounin. He knocked heavily on the door with every ounce of intimidation that he had in him. The door opened to a kind-looking man with spiked dull pink hair. It resembled a sakura blossom.

“My name is Namikaze Mumei, may I come in?” he asked with a steel tone.

“Of course!” Kizashi ushered his guest inside. “What can I help you with?”

“I’m here about your daughter,” he informed the genin.

“Is she in some kind of trouble,” Kizashi worried?

“No, no. In fact, we are recognizing her talent. She is a very bright girl. Is your wife Mebuki here? I would like to speak to both of you about an opportunity for her.”

“Oh! Of course!” he responded excitedly before calling for his wife. Mebuki was a kind and loving mother with lovely short blonde hair and bangs that flowed to the bridge of her nose. However, she was much more serious than her husband. This led to a gratuitous amount of banter between spouses. She was a woman to be reckoned with.

“Darling, why haven’t you invited our guest to sit? I’ll put on some tea,” Mebuki said kindly.

“Thank you,” Mumei smiled before taking a seat in an armchair. Mebuki went to put on the kettle and Kizashi settled into the couch. Before long, Mebuki joined them, halting the small talk about the current state of affairs in the village.

“Now, your daughter is a very bright girl. The Academy has recognized that she will likely be top of her class. We have a very unique opportunity for her,” Mumei began.

“What kind of opportunity?” Kizashi inquired with enthusiasm. Mebuki looked more wary of the situation than her excitable husband.

“We are forming a team of youngsters to grow up together, form strong bonds. They will be the second coming of the sannin. They will help bring Konoha to a new era of prosperity,” Mumei motioned with his hands, widening them as if he were about to hug someone.

“That’s wonderful!” Kizashi exclaimed.

“She’s only six,” Mebuki stated out of concern. “What kind of training will she go through? Who is on the team?” 

“There will be no extraneous training, only what is suitable for their age group. Her other teammates Naruto and Sasuke are currently working on taijutsu training and history,” Mumei informed, wary of their reactions to his young charges.

“They both seem like good lads,” Kizashi said in agreement, “and that doesn’t sound like too much for my little blossom.”

Mebuki nodded in agreement but still didn’t look convinced.

“Who will be leading this team?”

“Myself and Hatake Kakashi. I assure you, we are well-trained jounin that are dedicated to the safety of our team and the village,” Mumei answered assuringly.

Kizashi and Mebuki shared a glance. A conversation seemed to zap between their eyes instantaneously.

“We need to talk this over with Sakura,” Mebuki warned the intruder.

“Of course, I would expect nothing less,” Mumei reassured them, “might I bring the boys over tomorrow to meet her? I’m sure things would go much more smoothly if they met on Sakura’s home turf.”

“Yes, if she agrees we will have her packed and ready to go when you arrive,” Kizashi whooped with excitement for his daughter.

Mumei stayed for tea and discussed some of the finer details of Sakura’s training with her parents. They seemed much more enthused at the prospect of her tutelage under the Namikaze and Hatake when they saw the Hokage’s signature on an official-looking document. Mumei detailed the training regimen, how they hoped the bonding would go, and anything else he could think of, all while sipping chamomile tea. 

The three had gotten so carried away in their discussion that they barely noticed the time until Sakura arrived home from the Academy. The little pink-haired girl looked curiously at the stranger in her house. 

“Sakura-chan, this is Mumei. He might be your teacher from now on. Come, we have much to talk about,” Mebuki gently spoke to her daughter. Mumei could hear the adoration in her voice. It would be hard to separate the girl from her folks but it would be worth it. Besides, it wasn’t forever; she could visit whenever she desired.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

The next day, Mumei and Kakashi arrived at the Haruno residence with their young charges in tow. Naruto and Sasuke were chatting excitedly at the prospect of meeting another child their age. They were overjoyed to make a new friend.

Mumei knocked solidly on the door yet again and it swung open very quickly. Kizashi stood in the doorway, little Sakura hidden behind his legs. Her emerald green eyes sparkled in curiosity and fear.

“Hi!” Naruto shouted boisterously, “I’m Naruto! I like your hair, it’s really pretty!” A wide grin split his whiskered face in two and a hand found its way to the back of his head, rustling the hair abashedly.

“I’m Sasuke,” the other boy offered more reservedly, “I like your ribbon. It brings out the color of your eyes very nicely.”

Naruto and Sasuke had recently had a lesson on meeting new people. They learned that if you point out something you like about the new person it makes them happy and more likely to be happy to meet you. It seemed to work, as Sakura stepped out from behind her father’s leg but kept a firm grip on his pant leg. 

“I’m Sakura,” was all the girl had to offer. Fear welled in her eyes and threatened to pour over in the form of tears.

Sakura was simply terrified. Her parents had just told her that she was going away to be specially trained by two jounin-sensei. She had to leave the academy, all her friends, and most importantly, her family. She was going off with complete strangers! The boys seemed friendly enough but she had heard things about them in school. The blond one was supposed to be some kind of demon and the black-haired one was supposedly a traitor. Her best friend, Ino, had a tendency to be a bit of a gossip so she heard all the slander second hand.

That was just the children. The men were a completely different story. They were flat out intimidating. The blond one was smiling but his eyes told a different story. They seemed cold, like they had seen a lot. There was a touch of warmth to them, but all Sakura could focus on was the bad in the moment. The silver-haired man was even scarier. His face was hidden by a mask and one of his eyes was covered up. She had heard rumors about Hatake Kakashi, also known as Sharingan no Kakashi and even Nakamagoroshi Kakashi. He was a fearsome man that she did not want to interact with.

So, understandably, the little 6-year-old girl was petrified of her situation. Kizashi placed a hand on her small head reassuringly while he opened the door wider to welcome in their guests.

Sakura’s small pink bags lay neatly on the floor next to the door, ready to go. The four trickled in the door one-by-one and stood next to those bags obediently.

Mebuki walked in from the kitchen with a platter of tea and motioned for them all to sit down. The boys plunked themselves down on the floor and pulled out a ball. The two pushed it back and forth to one another with chakra, their bodies never coming in contact with the rubber. Sakura looked on in awe. How were those boys doing that? She didn’t even know what chakra was, let alone how to control it like that. Curiosity overcame her fear and she sat down next to them and struck up a conversation.

Mebuki and Kizashi were surprised as well; it was unusual for such young children to be so skilled in chakra manipulation. The Academy didn’t teach it until the kids were at least 8-years-old. These 6-year-olds shouldn’t even know what chakra was yet! Now they were certain that this was a good choice for their little blossom. She would learn a lot under these shinobi’s tutelage.

The adults and children chattered with their respective groups, making small talk and getting to know each other a little better. The boys pestered their new acquaintance with questions about her favorite things while she returned with questions about their teachers and what they had learned so far.

Once two servings of tea were long gone, it was time to go. 

The kids rose from the floor and the adults from their seats and made their way towards the door. Kizashi knelt down to Sakura’s height and wrapped her in a big hug. He reached his hands up to his nape and undid the necklace from around his neck. It was silver in color with a pink cherry blossom that had one deep red petal. With careful hands, he secured it around the young girl’s neck.

“Now we’ll always be with you even when you’re far away,” he told her. 

Tears welled in Sakura's eyes as she jumped on him and crushed him in a hug. Mebuki knelt down to join in the little love-fest and they all participated in a group hug. The boys averted their eyes, Naruto having never felt the love of a parent and Sasuke knowing he would never receive such love again. Kakashi and Mumei were envious as well but looked on, glad that Sakura had that kind of happiness in her life.

Once Kizashi and Mebuki were satisfied that Sakura was no longer going to cry, they released her and rose to their full heights. Sakura shuffled over to her bags and picked them up.

“We’ll take those,” Mumei smiled with an outstretched hand.

Sakura looked concerned about the fate of her belongings but turned them over to the seasoned shinobi.

As one unit, the two men and two boys turned to leave. Sakura paused before following, hesitant to follow these people that seemed to share one brain. She was afraid to live with strangers, but afraid most of all, of being the only girl. She was leaving behind her best friend Ino to train with a couple of strange boys in hopes of becoming stronger. 

Pushing aside her feelings for the moment, she stepped bravely forward into her new future. She wanted to seem strong for her parents so they wouldn’t worry about her. 

Sakura trailed behind the group of four, tentative to be seen with them. She had heard all about Naruto and Sasuke from the other children at the academy and none of it was very nice. There were lots of rumors about why they weren’t allowed to go to school to become shinobi. One of which was because they were too evil and would betray the village. The adults weren’t much better. Kakashi was infamous for being a brutal and effective shinobi. Mumei was rumored to be the Yondaime’s brother who had appeared out of nowhere and was not to be trusted.

She wasn’t sure who to believe, the children her age or her parents who urged her not to be afraid. Though she was unsure about all the others, Mumei she was at least certain about. He was definitely Yondaime-sama’s brother. She had seen a picture in one of her school books while she was leafing through, attempting to get ahead of the rest of her classmates.

The similarities were striking. They had the same cerulean blue eyes and golden locks. The only real difference was the almond shape of Mumei’s eyes and the way he styled his hair, although even that was similar. 

In her eyes, Naruto had always been an orphan, but now Sakura had new information. Mumei and Naruto appeared to look exactly the same, down to the shape of their eyes. The only difference were the whiskers on Naruto’s cheeks. With this, she made a very logical assumption - Mumei was Naruto’s father. Anyone that knew them would have guffawed, but Sakura felt what she surmised to be accurate.

The little girl paused in her ruminations as she noticed that her new comrades had stopped ahead of her at a store. She sped up her sedate pace to catch up and came to a halt beside her two agemates. Looking at the two adults, she noticed that her belongings had vanished from their hands. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. She knew she shouldn’t trust these strangers. They had absconded with her possessions. 

The men noticed her apprehension and Kakashi was quick with an answer.

“Maa, your belongings are back at the compound. No need to think us thieves,” he eye-smiled and the young girl.

Sakura had the decency to blush at the accusation. She had been thinking such thoughts.

“H-how?” she stuttered uncharacteristically. 

“Shadow clones!” the boys piped in with big shit-eating grins.

Sakura’s brow furrowed in confusion. She had never heard of a shadow clone before. Clones, sure. That was a basic academy technique. Shadow clones, however, were foreign. Before she could form the words, a light puff of smoke appeared around the shinobi. As it cleared, she saw several new figures. There was a perfect copy of Mumei, Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke staring at her innocently. She narrowed her green eyes and poked both the Sasukes in their arms. Her finger didn’t permeate the illusion as she had expected. Very interesting. 

As she reached forward to investigate more, a small hand tapped her on the shoulder. She whirled around to find a copy of herself. They were identical down to the green dress with sakura petals on the right side and the red ribbon tied in her hair. 

Shocked, Sakura raised back a fist and punched the clone right in the face. It dispelled with a pop and a blast of smoke. Surprised by her own actions, Sakura turned back around apologetically to find the group of 8 staring at her wide-eyed.

One of the Mumei’s started laughing hysterically. He bent over at the waist, hands clutching his mouth and chin, urging the laughter to stop. The other Mumei began to pound its double on the back with such force that it dispelled itself. The Kakashis looked on in irritated amusement and the four boys looked at her in awe. 

“That was so cool!” Naruto burst out, springing towards the girl and wrapping her in a hug. 

Sakura stiffened in his grasp but Naruto didn’t seem to notice or if he did, he didn’t care, as the hug only grew tighter. Slowly, she relaxed, but her arms were trapped and she was unable to reciprocate. One of the Sasukes grabbed Naruto by the collar and dragged him off of his quarry. 

“Sorry, he gets excited,” Sasuke apologized for his best friend, “he’s not always this rude.”

“It’s alright,” Sakura spoke over the still ringing laughter. Her eyes locked on to the dirt ground.

“If he ever stops laughing, he’ll tell you that they are solid, durable clones,” Kakashi spoke with a glare at his partner. 

As he spoke, Mumei’s laughter trickled off into a few chortles.

“Sorry Sakura-chan, I was not expecting that reaction,” he giggled childishly. “You’re different, I like that.”

Mumei left unspoken that he didn’t mean different from most girls, he meant different from the young Sakura that he remembered. The Sakura that he remembered was cold to him but kind to Sasuke. He decidedly liked this Sakura much better than his memory.

Sakura blushed at Mumei’s comment, although she did not fully understand his meaning.

Kakashi rolled his eyes and Mumei dispelled his clones, pouting at his companion amicably. 

They had drawn quite the considerable crowd although they were not looking on fondly, only with contempt towards the two young boys. Naruto seemed unaffected but Sasuke withdrew into himself. He was uncomfortable under such scrutiny, having only recently discovered the feeling of the village’s disdain. 

The raven-haired boy drew closer to his mentors, using them as a shield.

Kakashi raised a hand, placed it on the boy’s shoulder, and turned him into the shop they had stopped by. Mumei did the same to Naruto and gestured towards Sakura to follow.

The girl followed hesitantly but glanced up at the sign in front of the store. It read Shinobi Wares with kunai acting as the letter i and a shuriken as the o. It was pleasantly not frightening for her so she followed along willingly. 

Higurashi-san greeted the group of five kindly. He was already familiar with all the members of their party except the pink-haired girl. He smiled gently at the new arrival and offered her a wave of welcome. 

Sakura returned the wave cautiously, arms falling back to her sides. Naruto grabbed one hand and Sasuke the other, dragging her towards the kids section. They talked animatedly about shinobi gear and what she would need as a kunoichi. She seemed stunned into silence at their exuberance but went along willingly enough.

Mumei chuckled and Kakashi offered an affectionate eye roll, although he was smirking underneath his mask. Mumei caught his compatriot by the wrist and pulled him towards the counter to order some special weaponry.

“Higurashi-san, I need 12 dozen Hiraishin Kunai, one pair of Chakura Kenjū, a Chakura Tantō, three pairs of Chakura Tō and a Chakura Tsurugi. I’ll also take whatever Sakura-chan and Sasuke-kun pick out,” he smiled happily.

Higurashi quickly wrote down Mumei’s order, already quite familiar with the strange man’s eccentricities. Kakashi raised his eyebrow in question but decided it best not to question. His intentions seemed clear enough but this was awfully early to get the children started in such gear. It wasn’t his decision, however. He was second-chair to Mumei’s first. Therefore, he obeyed, not ordered.

The copy-nin abandoned Mumei to finish up his order and went in search of the children in their charge. Naruto was bouncing on the balls of his feet, waiting excitedly for his friends to get out of the changing rooms.

Sasuke emerged first, a short-sleeved black body suit adorned his small body. ANBU pants covered up the bottom half of the suit and black shinobi sandals finished the look. The high collared shirt was a great contrast with the white bandages that covered his left arm. Elbow protectors hung a little loose on his youthful arms. A strip of bandages ran around his right thigh where a pouch hung. 

Naruto grabbed his best friend’s arm and bounded up and down, exclaiming how good and “cool” he looked. Sasuke smiled at his friend’s exuberance. The duo discussed quietly if Sasuke should wear shinobi gloves or not. Sasuke was vehemently against it because he liked his bandages, but Naruto was for the idea because he wanted them to match.

Mid-argument, Sakura stepped out of her changing booth, a blush adorning her cheeks that nearly matched her hair. 

Both boys froze, mouths gaping from their loud so-called discussion.

“Woah,” was the only word that left Sasuke’s mouth.

Naruto was somewhat more sophisticated in his response.

“You look even cooler than Sasuke!” he exclaimed, bounding over to Sakura now and grasping her hand in his, he began his bouncing anew. 

Sasuke pouted at this but joined the two and changed the subject to Sakura’s new attire.

The pink-haired girl wore a red short-sleeve shirt the color of the petal on her father’s necklace and her ribbon. Underneath was a mesh long-sleeve shirt. She wore black shorts and shinobi sandal-boots that went up to her knees. On her hands she wore black gloves and pale pink elbow protectors. Around her thigh were the typical bandages and a black pouch. 

The discussion turned to the perks of ANBU pants versus shorts and Kakashi decided this would be a good time for them to look around the rest of the shop.

“Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, it’s almost time to go. Gather up your things,” he called.

It was a close call, but Kakashi managed to avoid a fight between the children about something as foolish as what pants were best.

Sakura and Sasuke picked up their old clothes and several copies of their new outfits and made their way over to the checkout. Naruto trailed behind having not got anything this trip. He already had all the shinobi gear he would need for a while. However, the boy looked put out at not being included in this shopping trip. Kakashi placed a reassuring hand on the boy’s sunshine head and ruffled his hair. 

“Next time, ne?” he offered.

Naruto rubbed his nose sullenly but nodded yes.

As Kakashi and Naruto made it back to the trio, Mumei appeared to be in a very serious conversation with Higurashi-san while the two kids looked at nearby clothes racks. Naruto looked up at Kakashi for permission to go join the other kids and he nodded his assent. The boy raced off to play with his friends and Kakashi approached Mumei and Higurashi.

As soon as Kakashi was in earshot, Mumei’s tone became one of camaraderie, he was suddenly all smiles and excited head nods as handed over his balance. Higurashi-san had the decency to look abashed so Kakashi knew that something was definitely wrong. He approached and stood next to the counter as Higurashi-san handed back the change.

Mumei smiled gratefully but Higurashi seemed slightly afraid, although he masked it well. The older man bid them farewell and the quintet took their leave. 

Kakashi couldn’t keep his eyes off of his companion. He obviously had had some kind of issue with Higurashi-san. He was desperately curious what had frustrated the seemingly unflappable man before him. 

Apparently his looks of concern had come to Mumei’s attention and he had garnered a response.

“Old man was charging me wrong,” he grumbled.

Kakashi was shocked. He didn’t expect Higurashi-san to be a bigot. 

“He overcharged you?” Kakashi asked in surprise.

“Under,” Mumei snorted.

Kakashi gave a snort of indignation of his own. 

“You insufferable asshole. The Hokage probably asked him to do that,” he retorted.

Mumei was stunned into silence.

“I… hadn’t considered that,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Not everyone is out to get you,” Kakashi responded, bumping their shoulders together.

Mumei gave a short laugh.

“Not in my experience.”

“Well, you’ve got me there,” Kakashi chuckled, “you’re right, people aren’t always kind.”

“Especially not to Naruto,” Mumei frowned.

“Not anymore. He’s got you now.”

“You sound almost fond ,” Mumei intoned. 

“Nah, I still have no clue who you are, supposed brother of my orphan sensei,” Kakashi guffawed. 

“Whatever,” Mumei rolled his eyes good-naturedly. 

He knew that Kakashi had come to accept him, although he did not fully understand where he came from. Kakashi was an intelligent man. Of course he didn’t fall for the crap that was being fed to him. The only reason he didn’t push it more was because of the Hokage’s acceptance of his presence. In any other case, Mumei would probably be in a prison somewhere being tortured for information. Instead, he was here, alongside the (past/future) love of his life, and younger versions of himself and his teammates. What a strange world he existed in.

Translation Time

Sharingan no Kakashi = Kakashi of the Sharingan

Nakamagoroshi Kakashi = Friend-Killer Kakashi

Hiraishin = Flying Thunder God Technique

Chakura Kenjū = chakra gauntlets (will be explained later)

Chakura Tō = chakra blade

Chakura Tsurugi = chakra double-bladed straight sword

Chapter Text

Chapter 12: The Misunderstanding

Sakura fell towards the back of the group. Naruto and Sasuke lead the charge, nudging each other back and forth in some kind of good-natured argument. Mumei and Kakashi were next in line. The blond had his fingers interlaced behind his head and smiled knowingly at his companion who was reading a book and diligently ignoring the other man. Sakura leaned forward slightly to catch a glimpse of the cover. ‘Scream and Shout: Torture Techniques for the Modern Shinobi’ it read. Sakura shivered at the implications. What were they going to do with her? Where were they going? Her mind was running a million miles an hour. Who did she get stuck with?

Mumei glanced back at the young girl who was now exuding more fear than before. Following her sightline, he noted the book that Kakashi was reading. He rolled his eyes and elbowed Kakashi in the ribs. Hard. The copy nin looked at him with irritation but a question in his eye. Mumei’s eyes flicked to the book, back to Sakura and then back to Kakashi, giving him a look that clearly said Really?

The copy nin had the decency to look somewhat embarrassed at his choice in reading. He snapped the book closed and stowed it in a pouch before increasing his speed slightly to catch up with the boys. Setting a hand on each of their shoulders he lightly pushed them away from each other and engaged them in conversation.

Mumei dropped back to step in line with Sakura.

“Sorry about him,” he started, “the man has no concept of what book topics are acceptable in front of kids.”

Sakura shifted her eyes off to the side, refusing to make eye contact. The Namikaze seemed easy-going enough, but she found herself hesitant to engage him in conversation. She was finding it hard to get past the concealed look of suffering in his eyes.

“Hm, or maybe I should be apologizing for myself. I can’t fix it if you don’t tell me what I did,” Mumei hummed quietly.

The pink-haired girl tightly closed her eyes, begging for the world to rewind back before her parents had even met this strange man. When she opened them, green met concerned sky-blue irises.

“I’m scared,” the girl whispered.

“Well, that’s alright,” Mumei returned, “we’re a bunch of strangers who just whisked you away from your family, of course it’s alright to be scared. I promise it will start to feel less and less scary. If it doesn’t, you can go back home with your parents. No matter the situation, you always have a choice.”

Sakura smiled slightly in return and gave a brief nod of her head in acknowledgement.

“Now then, we’re just about to arrive,” he announced.

She looked ahead to see the boys veer off towards a fence line of shrubbery and a large ornate gate. Inside, she didn’t see any form of house, however. It appeared to be just an open expanse of greenery. Sakura glanced around, confused, and concerned at the nonchalance of the group. She watched Naruto make quick work of biting his finger and placing it on what appeared to be a complex design of kanji and symbols.

“This is a seal matrix; it allows in those that have been coded into it using blood and chakra. Those present are the only ones allowed into this complex without escort. Would you like to be coded in, Sakura-chan?” Mumei explained to the girl and gestured to the matrix in turn.

Sakura gave a slight nod but there were still tears threatening to fall. She stepped forward, hands shaking, bit her finger hard enough to draw blood with a quiet whimper, and placed her hand on the seal where Mumei had indicated.

Mumei placed his hand on her head and gave a light ruffle, testing the waters. The girl didn’t move but gave a small watery smile.

Having been as patient as two 6-year-old boys could be, Naruto and Sasuke whooped in excitement. They each grabbed one of Sakura’s hands and pulled her into the compound, leaving the men in their wake. Mumei hummed contentedly before following.

Kakashi was left standing at the gate, contemplating how the hell he had gotten himself here. He was ANBU for god’s sake, not a babysitter. Yet, here he was, babysitter extraordinaire for three 6-year-olds and one grown ass man. Which was the more difficult task? Hands-down, babysitting that idiotic, over-the-top, aggravating, kind, loving, monster of a man. Shit. Kakashi was well and truly fucked. What was it about that blond-haired hooligan that threatened to bring him to his knees?

Muttering about his breath about stupid men, Kakashi turned the corner past the gate. It took every ounce of his ninja abilities to keep his face neutral as he nearly headbutted said stupid man.

“Mumbling sweet nothings about little ole me, Kashi-kun?” Mumei teased, mere centimeters from Kakashi’s face.

They breathed the same air. He held his breath. Kakashi was the first to back away.

“In your dreams,” he muttered before turning on his heel and stalking out of the compound to brood.

Kicking at the dirt, Mumei sighed with exasperation. Or was it agony? No, let’s call it exasperation. That hurt less.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

The copy-nin retreated as quickly as he could from the Namikaze compound. He didn’t know where to go. His apartment was no more. Not that it was ever truly his home. The place had always been rather… minimalist. He never had many belongings nor the time to accumulate anything of importance. His usual hideout, now his current home, was off limits due to pure embarrassment.

So, he went where he felt close to his teammates. The Memorial Stone.

Though the run wasn’t far, he reached the memorial stone, chest heaving. Panic gripped him by the throat.

“Shit. Shit,” he muttered, kneeling on all fours like a wild animal, “Shit.”

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

“Shit!” Mumei kicked a nearby tree with all his non-chakra-enhanced might.

A foot-shaped dent blasted its way into the trunk. Anxiety and frustration beaded off him, his chakra flared slightly.

“Uh, nii-chan?” Naruto tugged gently on the back of his uncle’s shirt.

Mumei plastered a natural-looking smile on his face and turned around to see the trio of kids looking at him with confusion.

“And that’s how we don’t react when we’re frustrated. What do we do when we’re mad, Taiyou-chan?” Mumei attempted to recover quickly.

“We take deep breaths and count to 3! If we’re still mad, we talk to nii-chan! But what does nii-chan do when he’s angry?” Naruto asked, his face screwed up into a contemplative expression.

Kicks trees apparently. Mumei thought to himself.

“When adults get mad, we do the same thing, and if it doesn’t work, we take another deep breath,” Mumei took a deep inhale and exhaled slowly, “and turn into the tickle monster!”

Mumei created two shadow clones to tickle Sakura and Sasuke respectively before pouncing on Naruto and mercilessly tickling the child. The little blond cherub struggled in the elder’s grasp, but Mumei’s tickle no jutsu was just too strong and the kids were no match for its power.

When it seemed like the kids had had enough, Mumei dismissed his clones and tilted backwards and landed heavily on the ground, flat on his back. He drew his hands up under his head and looked up at the image of mountains in the distance and the clouds floating in the sky. Naruto curled into Mumei’s right side, hand firmly scrunched in his shirt. Sasuke mirrored Naruto on the man’s left. Sakura sat off to the side under a tree, still unsure where she fit into everything.

Mumei sighed heavily. If he couldn’t have Kakashi, at least he had these kids to look after.