I OWN NOTHING BUT THE PLOT

Returning to him

What if after getting caught by Madara, Kyuubi sends Naruto back? But what if he makes everything change, yet it gives Naruto a chance to set everything straight?

Chapter 13:

Road to a New Future

Kakashi headed to Rin's home a little past ten. This time though, Rin answered the door. Kakashi took in her pale complexion and dirty clothes, messy hair, and the bags under her eyes. He blinked at her, "Are you okay, Rin?"

Rin nodded at him, "Kakashi-kun, did something happen?"

"Ne, have you eaten?" he inquired.

"I ate earlier before I made it back from the mission," she said softly.

Nodding, Kakashi sighed, "Before you take the needed rest, will you come with me?"

Rin nodded and stepped out of her house, closing the door behind her, "Where to?"

Kakashi began to lead her in the direction of the hospital, "I want you to see something, I'm sure it'll help you," he said, looking ahead with his hands in his pockets, "it did to me."

"Okay," Rin said, somewhat sounding detached.

"How was your mission?"

Rin glanced at him before setting her eyes on the street, "Hokage-sama asked for all available medics to report to the frontlines to help," she said. "I was called as soon as we got back. I didn't even get to go home," she shrugged.

Kakashi nodded, "Glad you're here now," he said.

Rin smiled, "Me too."

Soon they were upon the hospital, Rin sending him a questioning glance, but he only eye-smiled at her. They greeted the nurses, and they went up to the floor where Obito was. Kakashi opened the door to his room, "-and then, Itachi's Sharingan activated! He stood his ground till I got there; mom was on her way, too."

Mitsuko's chipperly voice greeted his ears, "Your Sharingan awoke?" Obito asked Itachi.

Rin gasped; hearing his voice must have shocked her. She pushed past him to see with her own eyes what her ears had already told her. Kakashi saw her stop in the middle of the room, the three looking their way.

Obito's concerned eye became wide as he saw Rin.

Mitsuko watched the girl run to his side and threw herself at him, wrapping Obito in a hug as she wept. Kakashi came to stand by where she was sitting at the foot of the bed to watch over his teammates.

"Oh my god! Obito!" she shook and gasped as she held on.

Mitsuko saw Obito blush but hugged Rin back, a tender smile on his lips, "Hey, Rin," he said gently.

Rin pulled back, checking over him with her eyes, "Are you okay? How did you survive? How did you get back here? Are you okay?"

Obito grinned, rubbing the back of his head; he nodded, "I'll live, gotta stay here for about a week before I can leave and have four weeks with the cast," he told her.

Rin wiped her eyes before hugging him again, "I'm so glad," she sobbed.

Mitsuko glanced at Itachi and smiled at him. He stared back with a soft smile of his own.

"Maah, Rin, let Obito breathe," Kakashi butted in. "Why don't you go home and rest? You can come back after," he told her, looking at her with his worried eye.

"You do look a little tired, Rin," Obito commented, looking at her and furrowing his brows.

"It's okay. I just want to spend a little time with Obito-kun before I head home," Rin grinned at the silver-head teen.

"Itachi, let's leave them alone for a little. We can come back later," Mitsuko said, hopping down from the bed.

"Oh!" Rin turned to her, "Mitsuko-chan, I didn't see you there!"

"Hello, nee-chan," Mitsuko grinned at her.

"Rin, this is my cousin, Uchiha Itachi," Obito introduced, hand pointing in the boy's direction, "Itachi, this is my other teammate, Nohara Rin."

Itachi nodded, "Nice to meet your acquaintance."

"Likewise, Itachi-kun," Rin smiled at him.

Itachi stood once Mitsuko turned to him, "We'll be back, Obito-nii-san," he nodded to him, moving to his friend with his arm ready.

Mitsuko giggled as she intertwined her arm with his again, "See you, guys!" and pulled him to the door.

Obito couldn't help but gasp at the fond look Itachi sent Mitsuko.

After the children left, Rin turned to Obito, "How did you get back here?" she asked again.

Obito looked at Kakashi -who shook his head- before turning to Rin, "I honestly don't know, Rin," he smiled unsurely.

Rin sat down on the bed, frowning, "But you're okay?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "the last thing I remember was how I was almost buried alive, then I woke up here all patched up."

Kakashi went to sit on the chair, "Mitsuko told us he was here when we went to report to Hokage-sama," he sighed. "We were all too shocked, Rin, to let you know," he looked at her remorsefully, "by the time Obito woke up and asked for you, you had already gone to your mission."

Rin waved her hands in front of her, "N-No, don't worry, Kakashi-kun, I'd have reacted the same way."

"Are you okay, Rin?" Obito questioned her, his face full of concern.

Rin quickly nodded, "Yes, I'm a little tired, but I'd rather be here," she assured him. "What did they say about your eye?" she looked between the two.

"Tsunade-sama looked at it personally," Obito smiled, "she said the transplant was done exceptionally well and that I could have an eye transferred, but I declined."

"Why?" she exclaimed.

Kakashi looked at him too, surprised about the news.

"Well, I have my Sharingan now," he grinned at Kakashi, "and if Kakashi can get around with one eye, so can I!"

"Oi, oi, Obito," Kakashi chastised gently, "I can give you back your eye," he said, quickly jumping to his feet and moving closer.

Obito chuckled, "Nah, you need it more than I do," he waved him off, "you can give it back once you're able to regrow your eye," he said with a mocking wiggle of his visible eyebrow.

Kakashi frowned, "Won't the Clan object?"

Rin was looking between the two, noting that their animosity over the year they had been teammates was gone entirely. Now there was genuine kinship, the air around them was entirely different.

"It doesn't matter what they think, Kakashi," Obito glared, "they can shove their opinion where the sun doesn't shine for all I care." He smirked smugly, "I gave you that as a gift," he touched his bandaged eye, "but if you don't want it, then take it as a loan, keep it for as long as you needed."

Kakashi blinked shocked, he looked down at the floor. He was invaded with the sudden urge to cry. He had mistreated Obito for so long now, but it turned out that he had been the bigger man since the beginning. Kakashi smiled with his eye and nodded, "Very well, Obito."

Rin smiled broadly, laughing as tears suddenly fell from her eyes, "Rin!" Obito exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked, just as surprised as the brunet.

"I-I'm sorry, guys, I'm just so relieved you two are finally getting along," she tried to wipe her tears, but more kept flowing.

Obito shared a glance with Kakashi. They had put her through quite some hardship with their immature bickering, "It's okay, Rin, we were idiots." He reached for the free hand and squeezed it.

Rin laughed, amused.

"We'll try to tone it down," Kakashi promised.

Obito grinned, "If we don't argue, the world may end, Rin."

Kakashi nodded, "This self-sacrificing idiot still has a lot to learn."

"Oi!" Obito pouted, "Just wait 'till I get this cast off of me, I'll show you!"

"You two," Rin beamed.

The two teens smiled at her, glad everything turned out this way.

…

Mitsuko had slowed her pace once they got out of the hospital. The two were now strolling through the streets in comfortable silence. Itachi kept glancing at her, but she waited for him to speak up.

"Mitsuko," Itachi called her. They stopped. The street had a few civilians and one or two ninjas, "I want to become stronger."

The girl blinked, "That's why we're training, 'Tachi," she verbalized with an unsure tilt to her head.

Itachi looked away for a moment, "I want to be able to control my Sharingan," he told her. Looking into her unique eyes, "I want to be able to protect you," he confessed.

Mitsuko's breath caught in her chest. Her heartbeat had halted for a second before it charged into overdrive, "W-What?"

"I want to protect you, Mitsuko," Itachi repeated.

Mitsuko swallowed thickly, seeing just how serious he was. Unable to take in how happy those words made her, she threw herself at Itachi, hugging him tightly, "Thank you, Itachi."

Itachi tensed at the sudden invasion of personal space but deflated as quickly and hugged her back. He didn't care about the pedestrian that turned to look at them, "I'm serious," he said softly.

Mitsuko nodded, laughing against his neck, "I know," she sighed and pulled back. Mitsuko cupped his face, "We'll grow stronger together," with a tiny smile on her lips. She continued, "and we'll protect each other."

Itachi blinked as she pulled him closer. His heart skipped a beat as she rose to her tippy-toes and kissed his forehead. Itachi felt his face burn as she pulled away, and she robbed him of air at the beautiful smile Mitsuko gave him.

"It's a promise of a lifetime, dattebayo!"

Itachi nodded faintly, his heart full of warmth from her presence alone. He had a feeling that would be a common occurrence in the future.

Mitsuko took his arm in hers once again. They continued walking, a semi-permanent barely-there smile on his lips.

He thanked whoever was responsible for bringing her into his life.

…

Jiraiya tracked Tsunade down in the healing temple on the northwest part of the village, where she trained medics from time to time during her downtime.

She was with a class of five when he found her. Tsunade sent him a quizzing glance his way, but he waved her to take her time. She snorted but continued her class.

Twenty minutes later, she finished, dismissing them effortlessly with a 'good work everyone.' Jiraiya went to help her clean up the dummies they used to learn all the charka points and which would be more effective for certain healing procedures.

"Jiraiya, what brings you here?" Tsunade inquired, a dummy in each arm.

"I have a proposition to make, Tsunade-hime," he giggled his brows at her.

Tsunade made a disgusting face, "I've told you; I won't be one of your research girls!"

The glare she sent him had him laughing nervously, "That's not what this is about," he said, hiding how terrified he was.

Narrowed brown eyes zeroed in on him, "What is it then?"

"Would you come with me to Ame to find my students?"

Tsunade stopped at the storage area entrance, "Those three brats you trained?"

Jiraiya snorted, "Yes, those brats, I need to find them."

"I thought you said they were dead?" Tsunade said gently, crossing her arms, and looked at him with hard eyes.

Shaking his head, Jiraiya put the last three dummies inside and walked out, "I recently received intel that they are, in fact, alive."

Tsunade blinked, shocked. She closed the door to healing chamber number five and went down a hallway leading to her office. Entering, they sat down, "What was said exactly?"

Jiraiya rubbed a hand over his face, "The rebel group called Akatsuki in Ame is being led by Yahiko," he began. "Nagato is his second in command, and Konan is with them," he sighed, "they're the ones trying to make the Kages come to an understanding while also dealing with Ame's leader, Hanzo."

Tsunade furrowed her eyebrows, "So, why do you want to contact them?"

"I told Minato about them, and he wants to have a meeting with them," Jiraiya shrugged at her raised brow. "He said that as future Hokage, he wants to have as many alliances as possible. That I should go over there with the offer to aid them if they ever need to overthrow Hanzo," he told her, leaning back on his chair.

Tsunade bit her lip, "So it's certain that Minato will be made Yodaime?" Jiraiya nodded, "Orochimaro's probably seething with rage."

Jiraiya barked out a chuckled, "Him and Danzo both."

Tsunade nodded, "Is sensei in accord to this?"

"Minato will be talking to him about it, but he should be," he grinned at her, "you know he's all for peace and helping the smaller villages."

Tsunade nodded, "I'll let Shizune know," she stood, "when will we leave?"

Jiraiya copied her, "A week, just to get everything in order," he walked over to the closed door, "also, this mission will be classified, so we can't let Orochimaru know."

"Very well, Jiraiya," Tsunade sighed and opened the door for him.

"Later, Tsunade-hime," her teammate left with a grateful smile.

…

Mitsuko and Itachi went back to the Hospital after half an hour of strolling through the village. When they went into his room, Rin was in the chair with her arms crossed on the bed, her head resting on them as she slept. Kakashi leaned on the wall next to Obito, speaking softly with him.

Itachi looked around, "Should we come at a later time?"

Obito laughed softly, "It's alright, Itachi," he glanced at Rin, "she's too tired to be woken up with you noisy kids."

"I'm not noisy," Itachi glanced at Mitsuko, "at least compare to her."

Obito blinked in utter bewilderment before he started snickering, which quickly tapered off into a full-on belly laugh. Mitsuko mocked glared at Itachi, "I have an inside voice!"

Rin jumped as Obito's body started shaking with mirth. Kakashi began laughing nervously, "Mah, Obito, calm down."

He shook his head vigorously, "Kakashi," he choked out, "you have no idea what this means!"

Mitsuko looked at Itachi, who was blushing lightly, which only made Obito crackle more.

Rin looked around worriedly. Kakashi scratched his head, unsure. Mitsuko, on the other hand, was relaxed and smiled brightly at Itachi.

"Oh, Mitsuko, keep it up," Obito was sniggering now, "you're good for him," he nodded towards his younger cousin.

Itachi's lower lip trembled a little before he glared unsure at him and allowed himself to be childish. He stuck his tongue out to Obito, "Breath before you pass out."

Obito choked, eye wide, and he began to cough. Kakashi hit him on the back, looking at the kids in confusion. Mitsuko began giggling at Itachi's full-on pout.

"What's going on?" Rin finally asked.

Obito gasped, hitting Kakashi to stop. Which set off the two slapping each other until they both hit each other on their covered eye, "Ow!"

"Oi! Stop you two," Rin exclaimed, getting up.

Mitsuko brushed her shoulder against Itachi's. He looked at her, and she did a victory sign with her hand. He nodded with a satisfied smile.

"You two always act like little kids, seriously," Rin sighed.

"I resent that!" Mitsuko grinned, raising her hand.

"Second that," Itachi nodded.

Obito sighed, leaning back on his propped bed, "You two are babies still. You don't count."

Kakashi rolled his eyes, "You're the only baby here, Obito."

"Hey!" Obito glared at him, but before Rin could jump in to calm him down, "after this, I think I deserve the title of toddler."

Kakashi blinked at him, chuckling, "So this means that whenever you get a booboo, you'll suck up your tears and keep going?" he mocked.

"After you make it all better by blowing on my wounds," Obito wiggled his eyebrow taunted.

Kakashi's brow twitched, "Would you like me to disinfect it and put a band-aid on it too?"

"If it's not too much trouble, I'd appreciate it," Obito concluded.

There was a moment of silence before laugher, giggles, and soft chuckles filled the room.

Rin looked at her two teammates fondly, "I'll head home, Obito-kun," she said.

"Okay, Rin!" he grinned, "Come back soon."

She nodded, "Will do."

"Would you like me to go with you?" Kakashi offered, looking at Obito, who nodded.

She shook her head, "It's alright, I'll be fine."

"Bye nee-chan!" Mitsuko waved. Rin got a nod from Itachi.

With a wave, she was gone.

Mitsuko hopped on the bed, scooting for Itachi to do the same. Both were careful with his legs. Finally, Kakashi sat down on the vacant chair, "You'll really let me keep your Sharingan?"

Itachi's sharp gaze zeroed in on Kakashi's covered eye. Mitsuko glanced between the three, "Yes, Kakashi.

"What if the Elders make him give it back?" Itachi asked softly.

Obito sighed, "It's my eye, Itachi. It doesn't matter what they say. I trust Kakashi with it."

He nodded, "Can I see it?"

"Eh?"

"As Mitsuko said earlier, I awoke my Sharingan," he said, looking down, "I want to see a fully matured one."

Obito shared a look with Kakashi. The silver-head nodded and raised his headband while Obito closed his eye. The two opened their eye simultaneously, the vivid red of the Sharingan present and looking at him.

Itachi gasped inaudibly. Mitsuko only stared at him, seeing the yearning deep in his eyes. Kakashi lowered his headband, and Obito's eye faded back to its natural dark color.

"What did you mean by a fully matured one?" Kakashi asked.

Obito looked at him, "The Sharingan's strength is noted by the tomoes it has," he said. "Most Uchiha awaken it once they have developed the two tomoes per eye. There are a few that do before that, though," he explained.

"Itachi's left one has two, but his right only has one," Mitsuko informed.

Itachi nodded, "I don't know how to activate it again," he frowned. "I've tried, but I haven't been able to do it yet."

Obito nodded, "I heard it's hard to activate an immature Sharingan, even if the owner has already awoken it." He looked at his cousin, "I'm really impressed you managed to do it at your age, Itachi," he smiled sadly, "don't sell yourself short."

Itachi nodded, turning to look at Mitsuko, "But I was unable to help."

Mitsuko sighed, "You know why, 'Tachi."

"You're going to have to explain it to me, Mitsuko," Obito said.

The little girl sighed. She slid off the bed, biting her left thumb, and after a couple of hand signs, she slammed her hand on the floor. A seal appeared and spread all over the room before it disappeared, "Okay."

The three looked at her, shocked.

She shrugged, "I've been practicing fuijutsu." She did another set of hand signs, and the scroll puffed. Mitsuko explained what the scroll was for, and after he signed it, she went on to explain everything.

…

Minato dropped by the Hokage's office before lunch. He smiled at the Sandaime and sat down in the little sitting area in the room. Sarutobi went to sit with him, "I have a request, Hizuren-sama."

Sarutobi furrowed his eyebrows, "If it's within my power, Minato."

"Jiraiya-sensei got intel about a team he trained in Ame," he began. Sarutobi nodded, remembering his once student talk about them, "He heard they're alive and active."

"He believed them dead," Sarutobi frowned.

Minato nodded, "Yes, but we now know they are the ones leading the rebel and peace-seeking group in Ame," he said gravely. "I want to send him in to try and forge an alliance with them and lend them my power if it's ever needed," Minato's blue eyes were solemnly staring into Hizuren's.

"In this time of war, Minato, I don't think it wise to get your hands dirty in the affairs of another village," he sighed, massaging his forehead.

Minato shook his head, "We all know that Hanzo is a tyrant more than a leader," he began seriously. "If we make it easier for their uprising to power, we will secure an alliance with a powerful ally," he stated. "One of his students has the Rinnegan," he commented, hopefully reminding him of what Jiraiya had said in the past.

"Ah, yes," the Hokage said, "Jiraiya mentioned that."

"Also, they're trying to get Konoha, Iwa, and Suna to calm down enough to make us talk instead of fight," Minato grinned. "If we settled the civil war that has broken in Ame and agree to a peace talk, hopefully, Suna will join too. If the two of us are in agreement, it may make Iwa realize we should all sit down and talk instead of continuing with all the meaningless slaughter."

Hizuren stared at Minato, thinking. He'd been hoping for a truce with the other nations to be able to ask for a hearing for peace. Iwa had been a fearsome opponent so far, but with the latest mission Minato and his team had completed, the tides will turn in their favor.

With a deep sigh, he asked, "Will you be joining Jiraiya on this mission?"

Minato brightened, before sobering, "No, sir. Tsunade-sama and Shizuren-chan will probably be the ones going with him." He licked his lips, "But I will give him one of my kunai's in case of emergencies."

The Hokage nodded and stood, "Very well, Minato."

The blond jumped to his feet, "Also, we would like this to be a classified mission. For it to stay between us and no one else."

The way he said it made Sarutobi stop. He looked into Minato's eyes and saw the fierce conviction that lay in them and knew. No one should be made aware of this, for something terrible would happen if they did. "Classified it is," he agreed.

Relieved, Minato smiled, "Thank you, Sandaime-sama."

"Will a week to prepare be enough?"

"Yes, sir!"

Sarutobi nodded, "Go on, Minato, enjoy your day off."

Chuckling, Minato bid him a good day.

Minato headed home for lunch. He had a lot to think about, all regarding his daughter. Mitsuko, who used to be Naruto. His little sunshine, who in another lifetime he had never met. He sighed, walking with his hands in his pockets as he mused over his daughter.

He knew she was at a level of skill unlike anyone else. The fact that she was able to enter Sage mode easily terrified him. He had yet to master it, he knew he was close to doing so, but he found it difficult to manipulate so much nature charka.

Minato found that completely ridiculous as his chakra manipulation was beyond anyone else's. He also wondered if Mitsuko had yet to create her own formula for the Hiraishin or if he could help her with it. If she was using his, it would take her more charka to ride on his signature than if she were to use her own.

It also seemed that her charka levels were even higher than his. Minato was honestly terrified of just how powerful she'd be once her ability could keep up with her physical prowess. The disadvantage Mitsuko had was her small size and low strength. If her body allowed more charka in the future, she'd be unstoppable.

There was also the matter of Uchiha Itachi. Fugaku was a fierce ninja. A comrade he respected and admired for his abilities and enjoyed working with. Minato knew that Fugaku should have been a candidate for Hokage, but for some reason, hadn't been nominated.

He would have to speak with the man once he got back. Not only to allow him to train Itachi because he wished to polish the young boy as a ninja, but to keep an eye out on him. In the future, if Mitsuko ever chose to pursue a romantic relationship with him, he'd be ready. Minato knew those Uchiha were loyal to a fault, a trait all Uchiha had.

He knew because Obito was the same.

With the antagonistic rivalry gone between his two students, he knew that Obito would begin to grow in ways he had been waiting for. Kakashi will push him to lengths only he can do. Obito will compliment Kakashi's style too.

Minato had also been planning on asking Tsunade to train Rin. With the help of Tsunade, Rin will overcome her weakness. She will gain the confidence to march forward instead of taking a step back to allow her teammates to deal with the opponent.

He entered his house, "I'm home!" he called. Minato took his sandals off and frowned when no one answered him. He went to the backyard to see if his family was there.

Indeed, he found Mitsuko sparing with Kakashi on the left side. Kushina was sitting on the outer corridor with Itachi watching them. "Kakashi's still having a hard time," Kushina said, amused, "welcome home."

Minato ruffled Itachi's hair -this time making him blush lightly- as he passed him to sit on Kushina's other side. He kissed her cheek, "She's something, huh?"

They are going at it, taijutsu only, but Mitsuko was definitely faster than Kakashi.

"She's outstanding," Kushina agreed.

"Have you done much with targeting?" Minato inquired.

"Not yet. I wanted Itachi-kun to see how important taijutsu is," she smiled at the boy.

"Ah," he nodded, "the Uchiha tend to rely too often on their dojutsu."

Itachi frowned, "Why?"

Minato smiled at him, "When you can hypnotize your opponent into making them fight the way you want, it's easy to forget the other branches of fighting."

Itachi titled his head, "So it's better to be well versed in all three styles than just focus on our genjutsus," he concluded.

Kushina laughed, "Yes, Itachi-kun." She watched Mitsuko land a kick on Kakashi's blindside, still not used to fighting with one eye. "There are individuals who can recognize when they are trapped in a genjutsus, and that can overcome the Sharingan's ability to hypnotize," she informed.

"Hn," he nodded, eyes fixed on the duo.

"Mitsuko," Minato called.

The little girl blocked the kick sent her way, "Yes, papa?" she dodged the set of three punches Kakashi directed her way. She crouched down, right leg rotating to hook on the back of Kakashi's knee. The teen buckled, arm stretched to catch himself. Mitsuko vanished in a blink of an eye, appearing mid-air -spinning with her leg outstretched- and would have landed her hit if Kakashi hadn't used his arms.

The teen still landed hard on his back, "Have you developed your own formula for the Hiraishin?" Kakashi almost grabbed her leg, but she jumped away quicker than expected.

"Not yet!" she took a deep breath, glancing quickly in his direction. Kakashi relaxed when Minato motioned them closer. Kakashi was fanning himself with his shirt. The little girl sure put him in a tight spot.

Minato frowned, "Mitsuko, what happen?" he motioned her to come closer.

"Donno, daddy," she mumbled, allowing him to tilt her head up as he inspected the markings.

"I didn't sense anything from those marks, Minato," Kushina sighed.

Minato let her go, sharing a look with his wife, who nodded. "Kushina, do you mind helping Itachi in target practice while I help Mitsuko with her formula?" Minato asked.

Mitsuko's eyes widened, a smile broke, and she began vibrating with energy, "Really? You're going to help me, daddy?"

"Sure, come one, Kakashi, you're helping too," Kushina said, getting up and leading them to the target area.

Itachi smiled at her before following the two.

Minato chuckled, "Yes, but first can you let me know how you've been using mine?"

Mitsuko nodded, "I figured out how it works and have been using your chakra signature. It seems our chakra are similar enough that I'm able to use it," she explained.

"So you have been piggy-riding on my formula," he stated, though wanted an answer with the look he directed at Mitsuko.

The girl nodded, "Yes, sir!"

Minato blinked, lips twitching in amusement and amazement. Nodding, he got up to retrieve a blank piece of paper, a brush, and ink. He set it down in front of her and handed her the brush, "This is the hard part of the technique," he began.

Mitsuko stared at the writing utensil in skepticism. She blinked her wide blue eyes at her father, "Why?"

"Understanding the mechanism to teleport is easy to grasp once you've done your first successful jump," Minato smiled kindly. "The difficult part is honing down point A to point B," he pulled out his three-point-kunai, "this seal is the catapult you use to achieve the jump." Minato set it down, "When you first began practicing, how were you able to aim at the seal?"

Mitsuko bit her lip, "I did it by sensing the small chakra imprint you had left behind on the seal," she mumbled, brows furrowed in uncertainty.

Minato blinked, "What?"

Reaching for the kunai, Mitsuko looped her finger on the ring and brought it up to eye level, "Your seal has your chakra in it, papa." She placed her left index finger on the mark, eyes intense as they waited. The mark began to glow a faint blue, which made Minato shiver, "I sense it."

Minato stopped breathing, "I-I… there's barely any chakra there, Mitsuko," he rasped out. "I haven't come across a sensor that can detect it yet," he gulped.

Mitsuko seemed to snap out of her trance, the mark's glow vanished, and she smiled innocently at her, "I'm well acquittanced with your chakra, daddy," she grinned broadly, "I always know where you and mommy are within the village, or close to arriving."

The future Yodaime smiled weakly, "I-I see," he stared at her, unable to wrap his head around the information she provided.

Oblivious to this, Mitsuko placed the weapon down, took the brush into her left hand, and began twirling. She glanced to where the others were and giggled as she saw both Kakashi and her mom gap at Itachi. Out of the five targets, he had nailed three shuriken in the bullseye, and two closed to the mark. She whooped at him, "Great job, Itachi!"

Minato glanced over and sighed, "Well done," he called. He looked back at his daughter and resigned himself to the fact that these two children may bring forth a new generation of elite ninja.

"This brush, papa, what is it for?"

Shaking himself from his amazement, he smirked at her, "That is for you to draw your formula, Mitsu." He crossed his arms in front of his chest, "I warn you, though, it's not as easy as it sounds."

Mitsuko looked at him doubtfully, "Why?" she dragged out her question.

"This mark you come up with, it has to be unique to you," he explained. "It must come from deep within you, a connection to your very being," Minato said softly.

She looked down at the paper, "So, this mark has to be a piece of me."

"Yeah," he chuckled.

Mitsuko nodded, placing the brush down and rearranging her sitting position so she'd be in a lotus position. Minato observed her amused. She crossed her arms and began to bite her lower lip.

Minato turned to look at how Itachi was doing, relaxing as Kakashi instructed Itachi. He saw the teen show a side of him he hadn't known about. Kushina was commenting here and there, but Kakashi seemed to have taken over Itachi's lesson.

"Daddy."

He turned to his daughter, tensing as those blue eyes stared at him, "Yes?"

Mitsuko took a deep breath, "About Orochimaru," she stopped.

Minato narrowed his eyes, "What about him?"

"He's obsessed with immortality," she told him gravely. "He'll do whatever he thinks necessary to achieve it," she turned to gaze at Itachi, "even taking over the bodies of children."

The freezing feeling of water drenching him overtook him. His insides turned, and he too glanced at Itachi, "What?"

"In the future, he will leave Konoha and gather young ninja of elite Clans," she hissed coldly. "He'll experiment on them, train them, before stealing their life energy and whatever kekkei genkai they possess," Mitsuko's entire body was shaking in rage.

Minato watched her, outraged with the mere thought.

"He already is," she turned to him.

Those eyes penetrated his very soul, gulping and afraid of the answer, he asked, "Already?"

Mitsuko nodded, "He's already experimenting."

His eyes widened, "What?" he snarled.

"He has kidnapped children, Yodaime, and he's killed dozens of them," she stated with fire in her eyes.

"Do you know where he conducts his research?" he questioned slowly, trying to contain his repulsion and anger.

Mitsuko looked down, "I don't," she sent him a helpless shrug, "the Sandaime found him, but I don't know how or when."

Minato nodded sharply, "I'll figure something out."

Mitsuko didn't reply. Her eyes conveyed how much she wanted Orochimaru to suffer the consequences of his actions.

She picked up the brush and began to trace random invisible lines.

Her father watched her, plotting some way to track Orochimaru to his hide out. He knew the only ones able to do it were his old teammates, himself, and a few Uchiha and Hyuuga Clans individuals.

Minato also knew he'd have to speak with the Sandaime.