A/N: As of 4/28/2022, I made some major changes to the overall chapter. The plot is exactly the same, but I rewrote it in a way that hopefully will make the journey more interesting (i.e. I made us/(y/n) a bit stronger and more capable). If you are rereading and notice that things seem different than the last time you read this chapter, you aren't going crazy! I hope you like the new additions ^^
Also, this chapter's picture was drawn by lewisrockets on Tumblr! ^^
~~~
The sun was beginning to peek over the stalls and houses, its glistening rays lighting up the long winding path through the village. The air was filled with the sound of chatter, with the murmur of dozens of people. There was enough delay in conferring with Minato about potential plans for the Uchiha Clan, the unexpected Cloud mission preventing you from meeting a second time. You also noted to ask Minato why he chose you for that mission despite the terrible elemental matchup – he must have had something in mind, you hoped. It was painful to imagine that Minato would assign you a dangerous mission with malicious intent.
No way. Not him.
You also wanted to inquire about the shinobi who delivered the message to you. It felt suspicious that a member of the prestigious Uchiha Clan would be tasked with something as basic as messenger duty.
Come to think of it, the village has always used birds as messengers, not people.
He had also informed you that Obito's team was to be present on the mission to the Land of Lightning, which stopped you from questioning that man's authority in favor of catching up to your best friend instead. You wondered only afterwards, why that man even bothered telling you that Obito was going – it now felt as though he were trying to coerce you into going, which wouldn't have been necessary if it was a true order from Minato.
I need to inform Minato about this right away!
During your walk, you became aware of Obito's scent, how it shrouded you in a thick coat and clung stubbornly to your skin from nestling close to him last night. If an expert sensory type ninja passed by, they could effortlessly detect substantial traces of Obito's chakra along your body, especially around your face. You blushed, hoping that Minato won't notice the distinct, masculine smell and chakra signature of an Uchiha as it shamelessly mounted and conquered your features.
As you bested through the busy crowd, your hand shielded the sore injury on your chest in case a distracted villager stumbled into you hard enough to open your wound. Obito would have accompanied you to make sure you made it to the office safely, but you had kept him up most of the night. You felt terrible for being the source of his lack of rest, so you opted to let him sleep in and make the trip yourself. You couldn't wait any longer to see Minato anyway.
A moment later, a villager did bump into you, and you caught sight of the Uchiha crest on their clothing just before they pushed you seemingly by accident. The bump was unexpectedly forceful, however; it caught you off guard, causing you to stumble into a nearby alleyway. Rough hands grasped you before you could steady yourself and you instantly met with threatening, dark, red eyes as they made invasive contact with yours.
The... Sharingan?
The surroundings around those vicious eyes suddenly began to sway and blend and your body soon fell deep into paralysis.
Genjutsu...? No... Oh no...! R-relea...se... h-help...
You kept your consciousness as the mysterious figure followed you through the cloud of civilians surrounding you. To your horror, you found that you had no control over your actions as you blankly stared ahead, your legs unwillingly continued to walk forward to wherever your kidnapper pleased. You tried so hard to cry for help, only to find that you were unable to lift even your tongue.
This... is a mind control ability of the Sharingan... but that means...
You watched your feet lead you to the Uchiha shrine, the one you recognized held the same meetings you inquired about with Obito mere hours before. The figure bound your wrists and tossed you against the wooden wall, immediately snapping you out of the genjutsu from the harsh stinging in your back from the impact. You let out a labored gasp, taking control of your breathing again while you glanced up at the man with a pleading look on your face.
"Now don't give me that look. You'll be the source of my loss of sleep tonight if you keep that up," he said neutrally, his piercing red eyes were the only things you could see from the shadows.
Wait... I know that voice...!
"You... you're that guy..."
Ominous, crimson eyes continued to scrutinize you in the darkness.
"The Uchiha... who told me about the mission to the Land of Lightning!"
You watched the pair of eyes squint before he stepped closer to you, the flames on the wall finally illuminating his features – dark, wavy, shoulder length hair, woeful black eyes with stress lines to compliment them - it truly was the Uchiha who relayed the Hokage's orders to you that day.
"I'll offer pity and grant you the liberty to know that my name is Kusuo Uchiha. I'm inclined to assume that you are wondering why you've been brought here."
You stayed silent for a moment, your eyes narrowed fiercely in belligerent opposition for the Uchiha standing over you. You had a decent guess to why: he somehow got wind of your extraordinary knowledge on the Uchiha clan, including the plans for a coup d'état.
"I'd rather know how you found out about me," you stated coldly, and surprisingly the Uchiha understood immediately.
"A virtue that is bestowed on any good shinobi is their excellent sleuthing skills. If they want intel, they should be able to acquire it."
"When did you –"
"Your initial 'talk' with that bumbling Hokage. We know about everything you discussed with him."
We...?
"Your chat with your Uchiha boy has been recorded as well. Is that how you managed to acquire the secrets of our clan? Who would have guessed that the weakling of the clan would turn out to be a rat? We'll need to terminate him for his insubordination."
Your eyebrows instantly creased with hostility. "He has nothing to do with this! I won't let you lay a single finger on him, understand?!" You were too furious to be surprised by your uncharacteristic demeanor, but you had gone through too much to fail Obito now.
The Uchiha was unamused by your threat. Instead, he remained silent, distracted by the tenuous residue of Uchiha chakra discharging off your body. The aspect of Obito being so close to someone outside of the clan sickened Kusuo.
"Disgusting," he mumbled under his breath at the brazen display that suggested potential mixing and tarnishing of the Uchiha bloodline. The village permitting the Uchiha to marry into and out of differing clans and bearing 'impure' young was a disgrace, Kusuo thought. His extremist and dogmatic views only amplified his resolve to proceed with his plans and halt your meddling at all costs.
"You won't win, you know," you said in a passive tone, rubbing your wrists together in an attempt to shake off the rope binds. "I don't even know why you would want to win anyway. If you take me out of the picture, the clan will go to war. Don't you realize that?"
He felt annoyed by the tone of your voice. It reminded him of a defiant child, but with the attitude of an empowered adult. "War is the goal, you incompetent child."
"Fine, that's your goal, and I'll make it mine to stop you," you threatened, striking Kusuo with a piercing glare. "I'm your worst enemy."
He simply scoffed. "Are you stupid? You think you can defeat the second-in-command?" he asked scornfully. "Who do you think you are, to stand up against me? I'll make sure you're taken out. You're no warrior."
"Wanna bet?" you challenged.
Kusuo smiled. It appeared that he had an equally stubborn opponent with a seemingly impenetrable wall of denial.
But this was no laughing matter. His anger had grown to an uncontrollable state. After everything he'd done and sacrificed for, his efforts were being completely disregarded by some nobody who had no business to meddle in Uchiha affairs. His own people were the ones to suffer.
"Don't you comprehend the situation you yourself are in? I hope you've figured out by now that you aren't getting out of this like you did in the Land of Lightning."
Wait, what?
"How did you know that I... almost didn't make it...?"
"Because, you ignorant girl, I was the one who assembled the plan to get you killed in that mission!"
"Wh-what...?"
"I was in control of the Hidden Cloud shinobi who commenced the first strike at the standoff border. I manipulated him with a genjutsu to see an enemy who wasn't truly there. The attack aimed directly at you, but you unexpectedly repositioned elsewhere and lived, despite my careful planning. If you are still too dense to understand, I fabricated the message from the Hokage instructing you to aid them."
Your eyes widened with pure shock. You opened your mouth to speak, but absolutely no words passed through your lips. This seemingly helpful man passed along a message to you from the Hokage that turned out to be fake so he could lure you away from the village and inconspicuously carry out your death. Thus, you would no longer be a threat to the Uchiha uprising.
"My only regret is that I wasn't able to stop you before your first meeting with the Hokage. Now the entire Uchiha clan is in imminent danger because of you!"
"Because of me??" You sat straight up, your body now wired with energy. "Do you realize what you did? The Cloud Village hates us now! Do you know how many shinobi needlessly died on that mission because of what you did?! I was the one trying to stop the clan's fighting! Minato needed to know so he can sort things out with –"
"ENOUGH!" He darted a hand at you. "Did you not think through the implications of spilling ancient Uchiha secrets to the village's commander?! With the clan's secrets revealed, now the village will harbor greater disdain for our clan! They will carry out orders for the immediate eradication of the Uchiha! This clan will go extinct because of what you did!"
The sharp gasp you took awakened the stinging twinge in your chest; you were unable to comprehend the meaning behind Kusuo's assertions.
No. The Uchiha were already in danger... that's why Minato summoned me that day. I thought that he already figured it out!
Wait...
He told me he's had suspicions that something was going on, that's it. I was the one who told him everything about the Uchiha's plans. If the village elders find out about this... they will slaughter the clan!
"You see?! I have to kill you so you don't cause any more damage than you already have! It's likely too late for us, anyway. We are planning an ambush on the village far ahead of what was originally planned, before they can to us, in order to protect our clan."
No. It can't be true. It was me who put the clan and village at risk? Who put Obito at risk? Should I really have told Minato? He wouldn't let the massacre happen... right?
You clenched your fists, your anger growing as you realized the truth.
"No. I'll kill you," you spat. "I'll kill you if you even think of invading my home. If you do so much as touch a single person here, I will know, and I will end you."
Kusuo was surprised to be moderately unnerved, scanning your deathly protective facial expression. "As I said, I can't allow you to leave. Not after what you did." He began to walk toward you, your heartrate accelerating as he inched closer.
The room around you appeared to slow down as Kusuo waltzed nearer, grabbing hold of the katana he had sheathed at his side. His steps seemed to grow slower, even the flames illuminating the room appeared to be crackling at a painfully sluggish pace. Soon, the pressure in your chest and in your mind gave way to pure fight-or-flight instincts.
"NO!" Your eyes creased shut as you shrieked, allowing your body's fight response to take over and whirled around and sent a darting kick into his gut, sending Kusuo flying to the opposite wall, knocking down one of the mounted torches.
Kusuo's eyes widened, and he quickly rose to his feet, drawing in a breath before a loud bellow of rage filled the chamber as you charged the Uchiha, leaping up before coming back down to strike him in the gut, then went to grab his leg with yours, hands still bound. With a great deal of effort, your legs twisted, forcing him to topple onto his back. Racing on top of him, you pinned him with your legs before raising your hands, interlocking into a singular fist, over your head. There was no room for hesitation. Your arms plunged forward, hammering down and smashing into his face repeatedly, the adrenaline preventing the registering of the twinging snapping in your shoulder.
Somewhere in the back of your head, a warning bell rang. But it was too late. Kusuo's hand snaked over, fingers curling around your forearm. He grabbed it, yanking it back, digging into the tender flesh, before pulling you away from his now bloody and bruised face.
There was a split moment that you reoriented yourself on top of him before you registered that his arm was raised back. As his fist connected with your chin, the force of the impact sent you crashing backwards onto the opposite end of the chamber. Your head snapped back, your left shoulder taking the brunt of the force as you slid along the wall behind you as Kusuo stood up, panting heavily. Although you stayed conscious, you didn't have the strength to stand back up.
You gasped, looking up in horror. Without looking directly at them, it was clear his eyes were glowing a menacing crimson.
You struggled to stand back up, legs trembling rapidly before dropping onto your knees as Kusuo stood there, his eyes glowing bloody red. His long, dark blue robe had been discarded in the struggle, and unknowingly it landed by the torch blazing in the corner beside you. A noticeable haze of smoke slowly filling the room took your attention, but only for that brief instance.
You scrambled to the very corner as he slowly approached, blood dripping off his chin. Your heart pounded in your ears, and you couldn't think of a thing to say. If you hadn't fought so hard before, you'd have died then and there. With your back up the corner, you silently hovered the bindings over the diminishing flame, gritting your teeth at the blistering sensations riddling your skin.
"Enough. You failed," Kusuo commanded. His voice was cold, deep, and evil. His blood covered the katana he retrieved in his hands. The blade appeared to be made of black material. It had strange markings all over it, as he clasped it with both hands, eager to sink it forward.
Every muscle in your body screamed as you forced yourself to look up at him, blood running from your forehead and nose, and down into your mouth. The binds loosened as it disintegrated from the heat, allowing you to race to clasp your hands together, just as he plummeted his weapon forward.
Your eyes squeezed shut, prepared for the unimaginable sensation, only for earth-like sounds of rock and terrain to fill the room, followed by muffling. Panting, you looked up and found that Kusuo was incased in your protective barrier. Electing to kick away his katana, it left streaks of blood across the now-mangled floor. You sighed, the precious feeling of respite filling you for the sweetest moment, until a thunderous noise emanated from your barrier, as well as a sizable crack appearing on it.
"GET. ME. OUT!" he bellowed, fists pounding against the inner shell with every word as it sustained more and more decay. Your hands trembled uncontrollably as you clasped them together once more, forming signs resulting in the barrier shrinking slightly, prompting the Uchiha to retreat his blows.
"Listen to me," you warned with quivering breath. "Stop what you're doing now. Turn yourself in to the village, or I will crush you. Do you hear me?!"
For what seemed like the first time, there was utter silence. The better part of you believed he would listen, until his attacks on the barrier increased tenfold, forcing you to shrink the barrier to a size almost impossible for the average man to withstand.
"Just LISTEN!" you whined, borderline pleading with him. "I changed my mind. I don't want to kill you. I don't want to kill anyone. Just give up!"
Your words were overshadowed by the rage-filled wails of Kusuo fighting to create more damage on your shield.
Your eyes shut impossibly tight, teeth clenching rigidly enough to force more blood from your mouth.
"GIVE UP!"
A shattering sound accompanied your screams, jolting you into releasing your blood-infused hands, slapping them over your mouth and chest over realizing what you had done.
"I – I'm sorry."
Kusuo was released, landing with a bone cracking thud that likely could be heard outside. His body collapsed to the floor, motionless. As he laid there, you could hear semi-conscious groans.
A jolt of pain shot through your arm and shoulder, and then you started to collapse, the light in your eyes dying with the last fading spark. You let out a soft groan, as your vision was going out, the only things you saw was the red of the ground and the back of the Uchiha's head, watching as the smoldering robe created excess amounts of smoke that filled the small, enclosed space around you.
The exit was a few short steps away, but your body couldn't process it. The smoke thickened, engulfing, and smothering the tight space deep inside the temple.
Breaths passed through you agonizingly quickly, struggling to keep your lids open. All the excess chakra in your body was gone. Muscles were torn. Your chest wound ripped open. Your spirit broken.
"No," you uttered, inhaling smog into your lungs. You couldn't cry; the intense dryness in the smoggy air made it impossible to form tears. Soon you slid off the wall, allowing your body to drop to the floor with a thud. Your nose pressed against the floor as you puffed desperately to inhale any remnants of clean air that remained below the pervading smolder. There was nothing more you could do.
Suddenly, you heard commotion just outside the door. Your eyes snapped open only to immediately shut when a searing cloud of smoke invaded your vision. Not long after, panicked thrashing from the opposite side of the door met your ears, but your mind refused to register it. All you could focus on was your instincts telling you that you were going to die. The striking stopped for a moment before the door smashed apart with such force that bits of wood violently rocketed into the opposite wall.
A shadowy form was over yours in an instant and you turned onto your back to catch a glimpse of your savior. Obito crouched over you, the goggles over his eyes allowing him to inspect you frantically through the suffocating smoke. He stared down at you with such concern until a figure with glowing red eyes emerged behind him, causing a gargled screech to leave your throat in a desperate attempt at a warning. Obito turned around in time to watch another conspirator of the clan lower a blade down onto him in what felt like slow motion. Swiftly, Obito pulled out a kunai and placed it over his head to defend himself, only for the longer blade to meet with a larger, unusual looking kunai instead.
In less than a flash, Minato stood over the both of you as he deflected the attack with one hand while simultaneously charging a powerful blue aura with the other. Before the traitor could even blink, the mighty Rasengan made full contact with their gut, violently launching them into the opposite wall near the regal temple entrance. Not even the Sharingan was able to react to Minato's lightning-fast movements. The Uchiha's back peeled off the ornamental panel and collapsed to their hands and knees right as two figures instantly appeared on either side of him, each snatching one of his arms to prevent escape.
Two more shadowy figures approached the hidden room, entering to restrain Kusuo, the pain from the shifting of his misplaced bones rousing him back to consciousness.
"Kusuo," Minato announced, unsentimentally riddled his tone; his tall figure stood over Kusuo as he slouched against the two smaller shinobi restraining him. "I intentionally avoided any vital spots so your partner can be brought in for interrogation. Shisui, Itachi, escort Kusuo and his partner to their holding chamber, and I will join them shortly," he concluded with a particular gentleness in his voice as he turned his head in the direction of Obito, who was firmly slapping your back to purge the smoke in your lungs.
Before they left, Kusuo peered up at the two Uchiha retraining him with pure contempt overtaking his features. "You two dare choose to side with the village over your own clan?! You are Uchiha! This is treason! Your father will be furious when he learns about your betrayal, Itachi!"
At that, Itachi's young face scrunched up in displeasure before they vanished as quickly as they appeared, taking Kusuo with them.
The sudden intake of clean air burned your impossibly dry lungs; the hoarse coughs that explosively exited your body tortured your throat and chest. As the blood on your face began to dry, your weary eyes fixated on the dark flooring until a pair of feet obscured your view of the ornate wooden design in front of you. Glancing up revealed the Fourth Hokage, his face furrowed with liability and concern as he quietly crouched down. His weight rested on one knee when he kneeled in front of you, one hand settling on your shoulder to offer as solace.
Obito's words laced with venom as he used his sleeve like a rag to clean the dusty ash and blood from your skin with his thumb, "Tell me what he did to you, (y/n). He won't ever touch you again. I'll make sure of that!"
"Let her breathe, Obito," Minato finally spoke. "Inhaling that amount of smoke can be lethal, but you escaped just in time." He cracked a small reassuring smile that disappeared almost immediately after witnessing a dark red liquid expand across your chest from reopening your wound.
"Obito, carry (y/n). We're heading to the hospital."
"You're coming with us, Minato-sensei?" asked Obito.
Minato nodded. "I'd like to have a discussion with (y/n) before I leave."
Obito nodded back, then turned his attention toward you, his expression softening considerably. "You're gonna be okay. Hold onto me."
~~~
The familiar surroundings of the hospital room filled you with dread knowing that you'd have to stay longer than what was originally intended. Obito refused to leave your side; there was a clear outline around his eyes from where his goggles shielded them from the smoke while the rest of his face layered in soot. He only left reluctantly when Minato ordered him to wash his face, giving the two of you ample time to speak in private.
"M-Minato-sensei," your voice was strained and hoarse, "I hope what I told you didn't cause too much trouble. I think I really messed up. Kusuo told me that the Uchiha will all die because of what I told you. I didn't mean to... I don't want them to –"
"It's good that you told me about their plans when you did, (y/n). Informing me early on about the Uchiha's growing hatred for the village allows some time for resolution before everything boils over. You did the right thing." Minato broke eye contact with you to think over his next words carefully.
"Still," he began with a sympathetic gleam in his strikingly blue eyes. "I should never have placed so much responsibility on you by requesting sensitive intel without any prior screening of our surroundings. It was wrong of me to ask for such confidential information that would compromise your wellbeing when Kusuo had discreetly breached the office's security."
He watched you intently as he spoke, painfully taking notice of the dark lines under your eyes, the weariness within them prompting his own to lower in guilt.
"(y/n). As your Hokage, I apologize for my blatant disregard for your safety - and as your friend, I am deeply sorry for putting your life at risk," Minato announced softly, catching you off guard with a sincere bow.
Seeing the Hokage himself asking you for forgiveness filled you with warm content, and you happily accepted his apology.
"But Minato-sensei, Kusuo told me that the Uchiha clan is planning a counterattack on the village soon. What are we going to do?"
"That won't happen, (y/n). I won't allow it."
"Are you going to stop it by... approving a massacre on the clan...?" you said hesitantly, gripping the sheets tightly in anticipation of his response.
Minato's stern look told you the answer. "Under absolutely no circumstances will I authorize a betrayal on our comrades. I've been formulating plans to resolve the tension among the clan that I've wanted to discuss with you, however, you didn't return to my office that following day."
That's right!
"Minato-sensei! I need to tell you that Kusuo was the one who manipulated the Hidden Cloud shinobi to attack us! He also sent me a fake message posing as you, ordering me to tag along on the mission that day so I wouldn't see you. It was all because of him!"
Minato's eyes widened for a moment before they relaxed, compassion overtaking his features.
"Shinobi of The Hidden Cloud specialize in Lightning Style, I would never have authorized you to confront an enemy with such a significant disadvantage on your part."
I knew it. I knew Minato-sensei would never have bad intentions!
"Do you think we can work things out with the Hidden Cloud now?"
"It's certainly a possibility, if we can persuade Kusuo and his subordinates to admit their involvement. But for now, my priority is with the Uchiha clan."
Two shadows then emerged into your room in a swift blur, startling you into alertness, until you recognized the two small figures.
Itachi and Shisui!
The two Uchiha kneeled in front of you and the Hokage as the puff of smoke dissipated, both their heads solemnly bowed to you. "Please. Forgive our clan for the disturbance they caused to our village, and to you," Shisui's young voice pleaded. "We can assure you, not all Uchiha believe in what Kusuo does. We want to take full responsibility for what he has done, and please listen to our request: Itachi and I want to make amends among the village and the clan, but we need your help, Lord Hokage."
You stared at them in awe. Itachi couldn't have been older than 10 years old and Shisui looked about 13, yet they already had so much weight on their shoulders, even after your vast impact on this world.
"Thank you for your involvement in seizing Kusuo, Itachi. Shisui," announced the Fourth Hokage. "From the information I've gathered, there seems to be a flagrant misunderstanding between the Uchiha clan and the village. I will conduct a formal assembly with Fugaku - the leader of the Uchiha, and resolve this tension immediately."
Immense relief washed over you at the news.
"Until then," Minato started in a friendlier tone as he turned to you. "Make sure you get some rest, (y/n), and stay rested." He winked before the three of them disappeared in a flash.
A comfortable silence finally resonated within you for the first time in what felt like forever. So much had happened within the last 24 hours – you needed some time alone to let it all soak in, you thought. Until your door swung back open, your best friend charging inside, seemingly out of breath.
"H-hey! Where's Minato-sensei?"
"Oh you know... the Hokage life's a busy one."
You have no idea just how busy, Obito, but you'll find out one day.
"By the way, what took you so long? There's no way it took that long just to wash your face."
Obito's face lit up in surprise, the lollipop he had in his mouth almost lodging in his throat. "Oh, well, I had a ton of dirt on my face you see, more than I was expecting," he insisted and eagerly took a seat next to you.
You stared at Obito, not believing him for a second.
"Also I... got this for you," he added quietly, meekly handing you an identical lollipop that happened to be your favorite flavor.
"You got these from helping out that old lady next door, didn't you?" you casually remarked as you peeled off its wrapping, similar to how you were peeling away his composure.
"She was the one who asked for my help, okay! I wasn't just going to leave her there and crush her dreams!"
You laughed as hard as you could without disturbing your wounds while Obito's defenses lowered, and he nervously returned your smile, his hand reaching to scratch the back of his neck over your reaction.
"There's... one more thing I wanted to give you," he noted in a rather serious tone that caught your attention, and he discarded the small sugar stick from his mouth. "Could you close your eyes, just for a second...?"
You played along and did as he asked. There was an awkward pause where nothing happened, as if he were reluctant and reconsidering his request, until you finally heard a quick shift arise from his direction. You then perceived a gentle pressure of warm skin against your forehead, shocking you into fluttering your eyes open to see Obito's chest while he leaned forward to kiss your forehead with such tenderness that it sent a warm blooming feeling throughout your body.
Obito held himself there for a while before retreating into his seat; his slightly upturned eyebrows, doting smile and bright pink flush on his cheeks clearly indicated the extent of his fondness for you. When you looked closely into his eyes, you spotted signs of relief within them.
"I'm glad I caught you in time back there. You really need to stop scaring me like that," Obito mentioned while you discreetly wiped the moist remnants of his kiss off your forehead. "I should start keeping tabs on you since you insist on always getting into trouble."
You laughed at Obito's playful comment, but inside it made you finally grasp that you will always be a target for enemy ninja due to your 'gift' of extraordinary insider knowledge of people and villages. That's a serious setback for possessing so much valuable intel, you realized.
"But at the same time," his unusually soft, pleased voice drew you from your thoughts. "It looked like you already took that guy down by the time I got there. I'm really happy about that, and I'm... I'm really proud of you."
His face grew more flushed after each passing word, causing your face to turn a matching red as you spoke. "Thank you, Obito. So much. But I – I didn't kill him, right?"
"Who cares? Who knows what he would've done to you if you didn't fight back. You had to."
You nodded solemnly. "I know that. But looking back on it... it's just – it's different when it's someone from our own village, you know?"
"Yeah, I get it," Obito hummed and nodded back in acknowledgment.
"By the way, what'd that guy want with you, anyway? And tell me the truth," he ended with a particular weight to his tone.
"Basically, that Kusuo guy... wanted to use the clan to... take out the rest of the village. That's why I needed to talk to you last night. It's shinobi like him who give Uchiha a bad name with other villagers. He saw me as a threat for... what I knew about the clan."
It took a moment for Obito to comprehend Kusuo's shameful misuse of his own clan, and the unthinkable notion of someone trying to dispose of you as if you were crippling evidence. Perhaps he shouldn't have told you what he knew last night if it meant putting you in danger, but your charming eyes and caring soul made it absurdly difficult for him to keep things from you. You watched the anger begin to boil up inside Obito over Kusuo's attempt to take that beauty away from him - you had to think of something to get his mind off it.
"Hey, how'd you know where to find me? Kusuo had me hidden away in that temple, there's no way you could've just stumbled in."
"Uh, well, why couldn't I? It's a temple for Uchiha, I could've had business there for all you know!"
You chuckled at Obito's weak defense, but you decided to let it go; you were sure he had his reasons for showing up when he did.
Obito wouldn't tell you, but he'd been keeping a close eye on you for a while. He had developed impressive capabilities as a sensory type ninja, and his new Sharingan abilities strengthened his chakra detection skills. He used this power to be acutely aware of your location at most times, just in case you are ever in any danger. He had awoken with a jolt to the sense that you were deep inside the Uchiha temple, which was odd enough, but your consistent and normally stable chakra levels had disrupted to a staggering degree. Realizing this, Obito dashed to your location as fast as he could.
It wasn't until he was in the hospital room with you did he sense that your body was plastered with copious amounts of his own chakra as it absorbed into your skin, prompting the Uchiha's cheeks to bloom in a shade of pink over pondering how so much had managed to latch onto you.
"I'm surprised that you managed to bring Minato-sensei to the temple, though. He's super busy all the time, how'd you convince him to go with you?"
"I... didn't go see him."
"Wait, seriously? Then how did he...?"
"I couldn't tell ya... we just got lucky there," Obito remarked while his hand subconsciously rubbed a spot on his back – where unbeknownst to him, the Fourth Hokage's teleportation seal lied permanently in his skin, hidden away within the confines of his clothing.
~~~
Two masculine hands met in a cordial embrace as Minato and Fugaku Uchiha exchanged confident looks of mutual agreement after discussing affairs involving the tension between the Leaf and Uchiha Clan. Meetings among the Uchiha regarding their disdain for the village will no longer occur. With your aid, Minato Namikaze achieved peace between the two once powerful allies and restored their relationship to its full strength. Kusuo Uchiha and his following of clan extremists had forcibly disbanded and will answer for their crimes of conspiracy against the village. Upon returning to his desk, Minato's personal assistant handed him several documents finalizing the negotiation process.
"So I take it that the arrangement went well, Lord Hokage?"
Minato nodded firmly. "Kusuo initially refused to admit his involvement with the planned massacre of the village, and with the standoff with the Hidden Cloud Village, but our interrogation specialist debunked those claims in an instant. Kusuo's memory can't lie. After discussing his intentions with the leader of the Uchiha, Fugaku agreed that such actions are inexcusable. This hatred among the Uchiha will finally come to an end."
Minato stated to his assistant calmly while he signed the necessary papers before packing up for the night to spend time with Kushina and his young son, Naruto.
"But Lord Hokage, we've been trying to track down Kusuo for so long, how did you finally seize him?"
"I've been keeping a close watch on a particular Uchiha, a former student of mine. I was forced to mark him with an irreversible teleportation seal in order to save his life during an advanced mission, one he wasn't ready for. I took note when he stepped foot into the Uchiha temple, something he hadn't done in years – immediately I sensed that something was wrong and gathered two other trustworthy Uchiha to assist me. The efforts of those four shinobi were just as important as my role in capturing Kusuo."
Minato removed his Hokage cloak before finally stepping out of his office, his body halting midway through the doorframe.
"That's why I'm convinced that this village is in good hands with the next generation. When my position as Hokage is passed down, I'm confident that our younger shinobi will loyally carry on this village's legacy," Minato declared, his mind centered on Obito and his dream to become the next Hokage.
"They will ensure continuous peace within the village."
"Perhaps this is the generation to achieve peace with other nations as well, Lord Hokage."
Minato smirked. "Now there's a thought."