17DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.
Namikaze
Namikaze… the legendary and mysterious clan of Konoha with an even more mysterious clan head. The clan itself is very young, formed late in the warring states era, and the smallest compared to the other prominent clans of Konoha but even then its influence is no less than any other. The clan even at its height consisted of only five members but even so no one dared to cross them. The clan held one of the three permanent seats along with the Senju and the Uchiha, although the term 'permanent' was only honorary signifying the three clans to be the first of Konoha. The seat was offered to the then clan head of the Namikaze by the First Hokage himself, and he was also rumored to have been the teacher of both the First and the Second Hokages. A shock of wild blonde hair, a shade darker than the Yamanakas but lighter than the few blonde Senjus, and electric blue eyes were the most distinguishing features of the clan.
The clan head of the Namikaze himself is a figure shrouded with legends and rumors, with no one brave or foolish enough to peer underneath the shroud to seek the truth. It is said that no living soul has seen the face of the Namikaze clan head and lived to spread the tale. I must thank Gaara for stopping me, the next time I meet him. The movements and whereabouts of the clan head is always a secret, but it is believed that whenever the village was in any dire need of help he would be present. The last time the clan head was in the village was more than twenty years ago during the attack by the Nine tailed Fox on the village, during which he was rumored to have been seriously injured in the fight against the Fox.
And now here I stood before the present Namikaze clan head with my team after practically kicking and dragging him around like a third rate missing ninja… Fuck my life.
I have come to this room before, being a medic myself. Although it was not very extravagant, a single bed in the middle of the room with a spacious window to its right, it was certainly better than the rooms available to the others. It even had electric bulbs, something that was rare even two decades after it was first introduced into the village because of the cost of producing electricity. Only the government buildings and rich households were wealthy enough to afford it. Hokage-sama sat by the bed on a chair, his disposition stern and serious. The person I was seeing was the ninja responsible for the genocide in the Iwa ranks during the Third Ninja war and the current leader of the village, not the cheery person who is our godfather and is bullied into eating contests at the festivals by Nawaki.
Okaa-san didn't look up to see us from where she was arranging the medication on the bedside table, on the other side of the bed. If she was looking at me I am sure I would see disappointment in her eyes. The Senju and the Namikaze were close, close enough to rival the ties between the Nara, the Akimichi and the Yamanaka. Therefore, it didn't look very good when both the clan heir and the current Senju princess treated the leader of the Namikaze with such disrespect.
The person in question was himself sitting up in the bed with his lower half covered with a thin sheet. He was wearing a hospital gown, but still had his cloth mask on. His arms were bare, except his right arm where everything below the elbow was covered in bandages. Did we do that…? We were already on thin ice; we didn't need to add to our problems by injuring him too.
Before any one could say anything, Okaa-san was between me and Nawaki pulling us to the bedside.
"As the clan head of the Senju, I deeply apologize for the unacceptable behavior of my children. Please, forgive them.", Okaa-san bowed deeply.
Nawaki and I followed her example and apologized too. From the corner of my eyes I saw Sensei and Sasuke bow too, echoing our words of apology. Nawaki took the oppurtunity to take out the storage scroll, which contained the weapons we removed from Namikaze-sama, from his pouch and give it to him.
"It's very unlike you to apologize to me like that Tsunade.", Namikaze-sama said with a sigh as he took the scroll from Nawaki, his voice more relaxed than the last time we had heard him speak.
"Well, we have to keep up appearances, don't we?", Okaa-san replied in an indignant voice. He smiled on hearing mother's reply, at least that's what it looked like with the mask over his face.
Hey stop ignoring us…!
"As for them", Namikaze–sama paused to point at me and my team, "I hold no grudge against them for my treatment under those circumstances…", I relaxed a little on hearing that, "but I will see to it that they are held responsible for the lives of all my subordinates, who were endangered by their actions."
The little relief I had felt vaporized with those words. I still didn't understand why we were held responsible for the lives of people whom we didn't even know, and considering all the secrecy I doubt we will be told.
"You will report to my office at ten in the morning tomorrow, where you will be handed your punishments. I have already asked the council to meet so you will know your punishment by then. Until then you are free to return to your homes. Do you have any questions?", it was Hokage-sama who spoke.
Taking our silence as his answer we were dismissed. We bowed again and turned to leave when Sensei was asked to stay back. I could feel the eyes of the occupants of the room on me as I exited the room and shut the door behind me.
As we stood outside the hospital I finally felt the fatigue crash down on me. The mission had turned out to be taxing both physically and mentally, on top of that our future was at risk.
"Why was his hair black?", Nawaki asked.
Sasuke groaned. I wanted to groan too, sometimes my brother had the habit of asking stupid questions in the most inappropriate times. It was his way of trying to cheer us up, and I know Sasuke knew it too.
"Hey! It's a legitimate question. Why does the Namikaze clan head have black hair?", Nawaki pouted with a hurt look. Moments like this reminded me of how much my brother resembled our father, always carefree and at peace.
"Ever heard of hair dye, dumbass?", Sasuke asked from where he was walking ahead of us.
Nawaki cursed and grumbled before shutting up as we walked back to our houses in silence.
"Something doesn't feel right about this whole thing.", Nawaki spoke again after a few moments of silence.
To a stranger at first glance Nawaki would appear to be a dumb brute, but the people who were close to him knew how perceptive he could be regarding certain things. Though it may not appear like it but he had inherited a lot of our mother's intelligence.
Sasuke nodded to show his agreement. So, it seems that I was not the only one with my doubts. Everyone seemed too prepared for the situation to be only a coincidence. If it was their intent to hide Namikaze-sama's whereabouts then why was he being practically put on display for the village by putting him in the clan section of the hospital. Then again there could always be other reasons, anyway I was too tired to think any further on the matter and decided to think about it in the morning.
"The council meeting will be held at ten tonight in here, you need to be there Tsunade.", Minato said.
"If you want me gone, at least dismiss me properly idiot.", Tsunade growled.
Naruto, Kakashi and Jiraya sniggered from their places, while Minato only managed a nervous chuckle.
"I will see to it that the Ichimarus are informed of your arrival so that they can prepare the compound for your stay, Namikaze-sama.", Tsunade said before turning to leave.
The previous tense atmosphere in the presence of the three young jounin had now dissipated into a relaxed one. Instead of a meeting of village leaders it looked more like a gathering of old friends. Naruto was the first to break the silence after Tsunade shut the door behind her.
"For a moment I really thought that you didn't recognize me Kakashi. Your acting skills have improved greatly."
Kakashi whose face in the presence of his former students had been the picture of calm and stoic appeared to have regained its usual nonchalance, his right hand holding his treasured book, as he answered, " Mah, mah, you are making me blush Namikaze-sama."
A burst of laughter greeted Kakashi's statement.
"So, how long before they realize something's wrong?", Naruto asked after every one settled down and pulled up chairs.
"Not long. Nawaki will most likely be the first to feel something's off.", Minato was the one who replied.
"Really…? He doesn't look that smart. I thought Itachi's brother or Jiraya's daughter would be the first to be suspicious.", Naruto said, his expression showing his disbelief.
"People have a habit of underestimating Nawaki at first glance, but in reality he is quite smart.", Jiraya said with pride.
"Can't really blame the people, after all you are his father.", Naruto said amidst another bout of laughter and Jiraya's indignant yells.
The four gossiping occupants of the room failed to notice the time fly by, and at least appeared to have not noticed the space in the right corner of the room starting to distort. The space continued to distort in shape until it resembled a whirlpool and a person stepped out of it.
Four heads turned to watch the intruder. His entire being was covered in a black cloak, with its hood pulled up, and his face was covered with a white mask with red stripes resembling those of a tiger. Naruto turned his head to glance at the clock in the room. It showed the time to be a quarter past eight.
"Now, before I kill you tell me why you were an hour late?", Naruto was the first to speak,
"Well, you see today the black cat was really clever and on top of that it had brought its family alongwith…", three kunai hitting the wall right behind his head cut off his reply. To any observer it seemed that the kunais had passed right through the masked man's head.
"One more word about black cats crossing your path and I will make sure to castrate you, Obito.", even the usually calm Minato proved that he had a limit to his patience.
Obito laughed as he took off his hood and mask. A black patch covered what used to be his left eye, and the right side of his face was scarred. Both reminders of his rough past and the consequent struggles.
"I know you all love me, but was it really necessary to throw those kunai? What if they hit my head? "
"If that had killed you, then the village would have been better off without you as the future Godaime. Also, Minato would sleep better without you dropping out anywhere an hour or two late. ", Naruto replied.
"You are so mean, Namikaze-sama.", Obito then paused to bow before continuing, "Good evening, Hokage-sama, Jiraya-sama, Namikaze-sama… Baka-kashi. "
"I think you missed one 'sama', dumbass.", Kakashi said from where he had taken a seat beside the bed, flipping a page in his prized book.
"I will remember to bite off my tongue the day I say that, scarecrow.", Obito replied with a smirk, confident in his victory.
"You say something…?", Kakashi asked, his posture showing that he had lost all interest in the conversation.
Deciding that the childish banter had gone long enough and seeing Obito ready to pounce on Kakashi, Naruto decided to intervene.
"Obito did every one finish their jobs?"
Obito immediately straightened as he prepared to deliver his report.
"All the members of the missions have been safely extracted by me, only Snake has a kunai wound in his shoulder. Here's the report of their missions; Rat, Bore and Snake have successfully assassinated the Utatane group's leader. The absence of their leader has created chaos and the slaves who had been previously supplied with weapons by us have rebelled. Tiger and Horse has successfully instigated a conflict in the ranks of the Tanizaki drug dealers. The eldest son of the leader has murdered his father and is currently fighting for control of the gang with his father's loyalists. Crane has poisoned Mizushi Saito with the first part of the two stage poison and handed the second dose to his rival gang members. All three missions have been declared as a success. Also, as you planned Sai's team has successfully identified Cloud's spy when she tried to pass information regarding your appearance in the village. The details are in this scroll.", Obito stepped forward to hand Naruto the scroll
"Good, it seems everyone has done an excellent job. Now for the next part, as the Hokage and I have decided; Tiger and Crane will be declared dead tomorrow. They will then proceed to go deep undercover to infiltrate the smugglers operating in the borders between the lands of Fire, Wind and Earth. According to your previous reports, they are likely supporting the Akatsuki financially. The mission particulars will be handed to you in the morning by Hokage-sama. Also, I am recalling you and Sai into the village. Mantis and Dragon will take your respective posts. Do you have anything to add, Hokage-sama?", Naruto turned to Minato.
"No. We will discuss about Cloud's spy at the end of the council meeting today. I want Obito and Kakashi to stay for the meeting. As the future Godaime and his second in command it will be a valuable experience.", Minato paused to look at Obito and Kakashi, and after two simultaneous nods turned to Jiraya, "Do you have any objections Jiraya-sensei?"
"No.", was the simple answer, but before Minato could continue Kakashi raised his hand to speak.
"What is it, Kakashi?"
"I suppose my team will be held responsible for the deaths of Tiger and Crane, but will that not result in them getting shunned by the other Shinobi of the village?"
"Tiger and Crane are a part of my ROOT, Kakashi. The death of ROOT members is not disclosed to the general Shinobi but kept within select circles. In this case, the information will be limited to a select few and then leaked to the spies.", Naruto answered the question and then continued, "Understand this Kakashi, your team will not be a victim in this. There is a reason why Jiraya, Minato and I have decided to remove them from the field while fabricating such crimes and we will discuss that at the meeting."
"Alright, since we are all done with the meetings and it's still only half past eight who's up for some poker?!", Jiraya yelled in jubilation amidst sighs and one cheer from Obito.
"One condition, Kakashi must bet that special edition Icha Icha he is holding in his hands.", Naruto quickly added.
Kakashi's horrified expression precisely showed off his raging thoughts at that comment. The Namikaze were also the possessor of the Devil's luck.
*/*/*/
The Hokage, his advisor, the Namikaze clan head, Hatake Kakashi and a cloaked shinobi were playing poker on the bed. Inuzuka Tsume was trying to help Kakashi cheat, while Sarutobi Asuma was laughing at him. Aburame Shibi sat on a chair beside Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Chouza, calmly observing the scene. The Nara was dozing off while his former team mates were betting on who had the best hand. Uchiha Fugaku was trying to keep a disinterested look but horribly failing at it. Lastly, entirely ignored by the others stood Senju Tsunade who was shouting at the Hokage for damaging the hospital, pointing at a part of the wall where three Kunai marks could be seen clearly.
That was the scene that greeted Hyuga Hiashi as he entered the hospital cabin for the council meeting; apparently he was the last to arrive. A most peculiar place to call a meeting in, was what the Hyuga had noted when he got the notice. Hearing the newcomer Minato turned from the game to look at Hiashi.
"Hiashi's here so we can start the meeting." Minato announced amidst groans and protests from Kakashi who was trying to win his book back, "Before we start I would like to inform the council that Uchiha Obito, the current vice commander of ROOT, and Hatake Kakashi will be attending as the future Godaime and his second in command." Minato introduced them as they bowed to the council.
Hiashi raised an eyebrow in curiosity. The scarred face and black eye patch was not something that he remembered associating with Obito, the last time he saw him over twenty years ago. He remembered a goggle wearing idiotic boy with a grin always on his face, not a battle hardened face with such a gravitating and serious look. Of course, he like every Konoha shinobi had heard the exploits of the Shinigami of Konoha. So, when Minato had personally put forward his name for the position of the Godaime, it had been unanimously agreed to.
After everyone had found a chair and settled down, Minato turned to Naruto and nodded.
"I called this meeting today to discuss the village's most immediate and serious threat. Uchiha Madara and Akatsuki are finally on the move."
A/N: THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS, FAVS AND FOLLOWS. THE REVIEWS WERE REALLY ENCOURAGING SO PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT.
ALSO, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING. THERE HAS BEEN A RECENT INCREASE IN UNACCEPTABLE AND DOWNRIGHT VULGAR ANONYMOUS REVIEWS IN NARUSAKU WRITERS' STORIES. I WILL NOT TOLERATE SUCH NONSENSICAL REVIEWS AND THEY WILL BE DELETED. EVEN THEN IF YOU INSIST ON WRITING SUCH IDIOTIC REVIEWS BE SURE TO USE AN ACCOUNT...