Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

__~MINATO~__

The blonde male slowly walked up the stairs toward his student apartment with grim eyes. The reminder of the loss of one of his own still aches, but now isn't the time for emotions. He stopped in front of the door to his destination and hesitated for a home before going inside. The apartment was untouched as it had remained for the last year, but his real destination was obito’s old bedroom. He opened the door, and his eyes softened as he took a look inside.

 Kakashi was lying down on obito’s bed, hugging a brand new tanto with an empty look. The sword had been obito’s last gift to Kakashi, and once the silver head had found out, he refused to use it, much less remove it from its sheath in order to not damage it. His father was not much better off sitting against the door to obito’s closet with many of obito’s old clothing lying in heaps around him. It made Minato sad to see his friend and student in such a state, and had he had the option, he would have left them alone to grieve, but…

“Sakumo, we have to talk” Minato half expected to be ignored but much to his surprise, he saw the older hatake twitch and took that as his cue to go on. “The Uchiha Elders are getting angsty and are beginning to riot” The last thing Minato wanted to do was deal; with clan politics, but now it was near impossible ever since his team came back with one less member and Kakashi gained a sharingan.

“The only reason they have not arrested Kakashi or rioted is that Yamanaka-sama was able to go into Kakashi's memories and prove he didn’t steal a sharingan.” Minato was hesitant to continue, “...however, they still wish for obito’s eye back” The reaction was instantaneous as both Hatake began growling. The blond man sweatdropped and chuckled nervously.

“Yes, I know, but you need to set the record straight with them or else-” A deep gruff voice interrupted

“Or else what? Ruin my reputation? Take away my shinobi license?” Sakumo scoffed, teeth pulling back into a furious snarl. “I could CARE less about that clan’s opinions; after all, they did to obito- after all, they did to my PUP t-they I-” The older hatake’s voice slowly broke, and he took a shaky breath. Minato sighed and took a seat next to the silver head.

“I know…I wish obito had said something- I knew something was off, and yet-” Minato sighed, ashamed. He was Obito’s sensei, and he should have realized Obito’s home situation was bad. The signs were there! To obito’s reputation, to his handling of finances even though he was just a child.

“And yet…I keep failing him more and more ” Minato’s thoughts began to head in a dark direction until he heard Sakumo speak.

“...his scent is almost gone….” The words were whispered like he was sharing a secret. “His scent is so stale…so faint…so wrong…it hurts minato. I lost a pup, and his fading scent just reminds me he is truly gone….” Minato knew a lot of the hatake’s instincts, and he could only imagine the agony he must have been feeling. After all, Sakumo and even Kakashi, despite his attitude, saw Obito as part of their pack, their family.

“I’m sorry….” 

“Not…your fault…” Both adults' heads whipped toward the faint voice of Kakashi. The younger hatake had sat up sometime during their conversation and was staring at them with his only eye open and obito’s closed shut. 

“It…it was my fault. He pushed me out of the way…it was because of my failure as a leader he- it was because of me t-that he- he…Shisui was- is right it was….” Sakmuo looked shattered, and he immediately stood to rush forward and scoop his son into his arms.

“Nonono!- Pup, it wasn't your fault, okay? Shisui is young and sad, okay? He didn’t mean it, so don’t ever say that. You know obito wouldn’t want you to say that. Kakashi, son, Pup, please tell me you understand '' Kakashi's silence made sakumo panic more. “Son, please tell me you understand. IT WASN’T YOUR FAULT” 

“...”

“Please”

“It..it wasn't…my fault” Sakumo looked relieved yet saddened. The blond stared sadly, realizing this must have been on Kakashi's mind ever since he came back.

When he, Kakashi, and Rin had returned from his mission, both of Obito’s brothers were excitedly waiting for their older brother to come back. However, Minato never wished to see the devastated look on their faces as soon as they revealed Obito was dead.

“No, No, No! You're lying! He can’t- he isn’t-” Shsui's eyes were filled with tears, and he collapsed onto the ground with a wail. Itachi's reaction was the complete opposite of his brother, silently staring at the group with no expression as tears silently fell down his cheeks. Minato took a deep breath and prepared to comfort the children until shisui raised his head and glared vigorously at Kakashi. Kakashi took a step back but not from the glare but rather the fact that shisui’s had his sharingan activated, but it looked completely different from a normal sharingan. Not only that, but bloody tears ran down shisui face.

“YOU! It was your fault! He gave his life for you, and what do you do!?” Shisui was on his feet and was advancing toward Kakashi. 

“He loved you! He cared for you! And all you did was throw it into his face! SO! Are you happy?!? Are you-” Small arms wrapped around shisui’s waist, stopping the Uchiha from walking forward and probably attacking the silver head.

“Shisuis…stop” The two words made shisui freeze in place better than any rope or trap. “Obito loved him...like he loves us, so we…shouldn’t get upset at him. SHisui looked betrayed and looked down at Itachi.

“But- he is the cause- '' Shiusi stopped when he saw that Itachi's sharingan was looking into his own, and rather than the singular tomoe, there were now three spinnings slowly. Just like that, the fight seemed to drain out of the older Uchiha.

“... you're right…let’s go itachi '' Shisui grabbed the younger Uchiha’s hand, and the two began to walk away leaving the team behind.

Minato and his team hadn’t seen the two children since then, and he had a feeling that even though shisui had specifically blamed Kakashi for obito death, it was clear that shisui blamed the whole team. Minato closed his eyes for a brief moment.

“I should…go visit Rin after” His only female student wasn't handling the loss any better than her teammate and childhood friend. She threw herself into her medical training, barely interacting with anyone and refusing to go out on missions until she was better "trained." The blond man blinked back to reality staring at the two hatakes before getting up.

“I’ll go and see if I can stall the Uchiha elders a little more” He turned to leave, trying to figure out what bullshit excuse he was going to give Obito’s clan.

“Wait,” Minato paused, curious, before turning around. Sakumo gave obito’s room a glance before looking at the blonde male with determined eyes. “I’ll go with you and deal with the Uchiha elders'' The yellow flashed blink.

“Ah! Are you sure? I’m pretty sure I can-”

“No, This…this is something I have to do” Sakumo looked down at his son, who had at some point fallen asleep. “This last year, I have been…absent and not a very good father…not only that, but I also gave up until I remembered that obito had tried so hard to help me, so my giving up would be an insult to him.” Sakumo gave him a soft smile “don’t you think?” Minato's eyes pricked with tears that did not fall, and he gave the older hatake a beaming smile.

“Yep! You are most definitely correct.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__~OBITO~__

"You know…I know this place is called the land of rain, but I wasn't expecting it to be constantly raining every second of the day," Obito deadpanned, not amused at all and feeling like a drowned rat. The good news was that while his clothes were soaked to hell and back, his body was thankfully dry due to swirly being wrapped around him.

"Well, what did you expect, obito-kun?" The white creature questioned, and obito shrugged.

"I suppose maybe constantly cloudy skies with rain often; I was just not expecting it to be raining all the time."

"Maybe it doesn't. After all, we only arrived last week!"  

"Swirly, buddy, I really appreciate your attitude, but it is not normal for it to be raining for a freaking week straight" Obito had been traveling for nearly two weeks, and he had learned a lot about the outside world. 

The good news was that Madara had money and supplies in his cave for obito to survive, but the bad news was the war. Due to the war, people were constantly stressed, and supplies, food, and shelter were either expensive, hard to come by, or met obito with clear distrust. Especially since civilians seem to have a sixth sense for who was shinobi and who wasn't. That ment that despite obito being a child, he was met with fear or hatred.

"My scars probably won't help," Obito mused, remembering the looks of absolute horror people had on the right side of his face. His long hair covered most of his face, but not completely. Therefore obito had been resting inside caves or in the forest before he realized he could go inside Kamui. The Uchiha quickly came to realize how overpowered Kamui was during his travels. Once he realized he could go inside Kamui and leave his stuff and simply sleep there, it became his favorite spot ever. For one, no one could attack him since the only way to access this dimension was through either him or Kakashi (and the silver head didn't have the knowledge to do so). Second was that he could leave stuff in Kamui, where it could stay safe and free up space in his inventory! Sadly he could not leave food in Kamui because it would simply rot, but otherwise, It was a free game. Third, he also had the perfect trash can for anything, his void. He could throw bodies, trash, and broken kunai into the void in his dimension, and it would basically either be destroyed or fall for eternity; either way, not his problem anymore. 

Obito continued walking down the road and checked his map idly to see that there was a village ahead. He looked away only to whip his head back when he realized that the village had multiple red dots mixed with the usual dots signaling civilians.

"Huh? Bandits or maybe other ninjas?" Obito narrowed his eyes in thought before deciding it wasn't his problem and was ready to go around the village until he noticed something else. Some of the villagers' dots were vanishing, and that usually meant one of two things. That they had used a technique to hide, but since these were normal people, that meant…

"They are dying…." Obito bit his lip and hesitated. After all, this was a war, and it wasn't his problem. He just wanted to protect his precious people. However, his decision was made when he spotted a white dot with black lines. His blood ran cold because that dot had been one he had personally designed to represent root members, which could only mean one thing. Obito immediately began to run through towards the village because why on earth was a root member here!?!?

"Obito! What's wrong? " Swirly asked, worried in his voice. 

"Well, I can't really explain right now, but that bad man I told you about earlier? Well, one of his people is here for some reason that can't be good" He spotted the entrance of the village and began to slow down, so he sneaked around. 

“obito-”

"Shh…be quiet swirly, please," Obito's single sharingan eye flickers around widely looking, searching.

"Why are they here? " Swirly quietly whispered. Obito tensed up when he caught sight of the bloody scene in front of him. As he had guessed earlier, multiple bandits ran across the village, chasing down some civilians or breaking into their houses. The Uchiha even spotted the corpses of a few laid across the floor with blood pooling around them like a helo. He winced at the screams and swallowed down his shock and disgust. 

"What…why are they doing that? isn't it bad? " Swiry sounded lost, and obito couldn't blame him. 

"Yes…very bad, but no matter where you go, there will also be some very bad people swirly. Very bad people" Finally, obito eyes land on a person wearing all black with a white mask of a frog crouched down on a tree branch staring at the chaos. 

>Rei ???Inama??? (LV - 55) Frog _OP=0_

• Is gathering information…
• Mind is broken
• One of the 12 current root members

"I see…so this is an information-gathering mission" While that does calm obito somewhat, he needs more information. "And the only way I am getting that is from them ." Obito braces himself and teleports behind the ninja through Kamui. He lands soundlessly behind the root member and swiftly hits their head, knocking them out. The body goes limp, and obito teleports the two into Kamui. He ties them up nice and tight, making sure they won't escape, and removes the mask. Once he is sure they won't be able to escape once they wake, Obito returns to the village with a critical eye. With a quiet sigh, he teleports behind a bandit and slits his throat. Obito throws the body into Kamui, then proceeds to go behind another man and repeat the process. 

--Stealth Level Up!---

Slowly but surely, each bandit is taken out one by one. Eventually, a brown-haired bandit realizes something is wrong.

"Oi! Hasn't it gone a little too quiet? Where did Riku go?" Another bandit with black hair next to the man shrugs, throwing a bag filled with loot over his shoulder. 

"Who cares? He probably found a cute girl to have fun with. Now come and help me. We have to be gone before those weird shinobi show up" Obito's blood boiled silently, and without another second, he was behind the brown-haired male and snapped his neck. The bandit with black hair looks back, confused. 

"Hey, idiot! We have to go- Back-!" The male coughs up a handful of blood from the kick obito gave him. The older male dropped his bag and fell onto his knees, wheezing.

"Hello there! I have a few questions for you!" Obito cheerfully said towards the black-haired man who was struggling to breathe with 3 broken ribs.

"Who…the…h-hell?" Much to obito's surprise, there was no fear in the man's aura, just anger.

"Ah, aren't you rude? Well, I have just one question, then you may go. Sounds fair?" 

"F-fuck…you" Obito grinned underneath swirly (he would question he new found sadistic nature later…much later)

"Great! My question is, why would you attack this village in particular- oh, and please be honest, or you'll be in a world of pain" The man stayed silent, and obito sighed disappointedly. "I guess you need some motivation. "The Uchiha raised his foot and slammed it down onto the bandit's leg. There was a sickening crunch, and a silent scream left the man.

"S-stop! I'll talk- I'll talk, please!" The man began to beg, and fear finally began appearing in the man's emotional aura.

"Great, now talk." 

"W-we heard that a b-bunch of stuff was going to be heard a-and…and" Obito's lie detection skill went off, and obito raised an eyebrow.

"Nice try. I know you are lying now.." Obito raised his oot and broke the other man's leg "…would you care to try again?" The man sobbed

"I'm sorry! W-we were paid- to-..p-please stop…” 

"Hmmm…by who?" 

“By..b-by Hanzo…please…w-we were meant to c-cause a distraction t-towards his…competitors…” 

"Hanzo? Isn't that… " Obito's mouth became a tight line. It had completely slipped his mind that the tyrant Hanzo was alive. That man would be a big reason the Akatsuki would fall apart and basically destroy both Nagato and Konan mentally. " How bad would it affect the future if I just killed him ?" 

"Please…please…l-let me… go" The bandit whimpered, and obito decided to take some mercy on him.

"Fine, I guess I spare you from more pain" The man perked up, tears falling and eyes full of relief.

"T-thank you- my- thank y-" The man went still as a statue, and slowly his head moved forward until it fell off the man's neck onto the ground. It was sort of funny to think about how just a few years ago, Obito would have felt sick at causing such violence but now? He just felt numb to causing the death of another. He was definitely not the same boy he was years ago. Obito shook his head to disperse his dark thoughts and went to go and get rid of the body before he was interrupted. The Uchiha instinctively jumped back in order to dodge whatever had just been thrown at him. He then turned around to face his attacker. 

>Konan (LV - 70) The Paper Angel_OP=-45_

The purple head stood in front of him with a calm expression, and her cheek slightly peeled away into pieces of paper.

"That would mean…." Obito's eye slid to where he had been standing a few moments ago, and like he had been expecting, multiple paper shuriken lay there halfway dug into the ground. " Oh..those would have definitely caused damage" Despite that, weapons being made from paper then managed to somehow look more dangerous than any actual mental weapons.

"Who are you?" The Uchiha turned his attention back to the woman.

"You do know it is quite rude to attack somehow and then ask questions, right?" Obito replied sarcastically, only to quickly hide a wince when the purple woman's face tightened.

>Konan (LV - 70) The Paper Angel_OP=-45→-50_

"I will KINDLY ask again. Who are you, and why are you here?" Obito hesitated for a moment before deciding that it would be best to be truthful…partially.

"I came here because I was chasing someone down who has some information I need."

"And the village?"

"Originally, I wasn't gonna interfere since it wasn't my problem, but then I saw someone who wasn't here and decided to figure out why they were here" Konan looked at obito with a critical eye. 

>Konan (LV - 70) The Paper Angel_OP=-50→-32_

"I see…did you gain what you needed?" The Uchiha shrugged.

"Kinda? The person I came for is still knocked out, so nothing yet, and this bandit-" Obito gestured to the headless body "-told me information about this Hanzo guy and why he and his bandits came here" Konan's eyes flickered to the body, to obito, the village, then back to him.

"… you're the one who dealt with the bandits, correct?" 

"Yes"

>Konan (LV - 70) The Paper Angel_OP=-32→-67_

>Konan (LV - 70) The Paper Angel_OP=-67→-44_

>Konan (LV - 70) The Paper Angel_OP=-44→-38_

"Oh dear, getting her to trust me is not going to be easy. "Obito watched as Konan's expression seemed to become as still as a statue before it relaxed into something more natural.

"Would you…be willing to share what you learned? I would be willing to compensate you, of course," Obito felt a plan form in his mind.

"Sure, but I don't really want money. I would, however, be willing to trade information?" The tension in the purple head's shoulder was released by a fraction.

"Alright, those terms are agreeable. Who do you wish to learn?"

"Have you seen anybody around with all black clothing and a white animal mask?" konan thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"No"

"Disappointing but not surprising. After all, they are quite sneaky," Obito sighed before waving a hand toward her. "Okay, your turn." 

"What information about Hanzo do you have?" 

"Apparently, they were paid to come and attack this village to be a distraction towards someone called Akatsuki" Just as expected, Obito watched Koana tense up, and for a brief second, her poker face broke to reveal a hint of panic. However, just as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone, and her face was empty of emotions once more.

"...I see…" 

"Going by your reaction, you know who that is?"

"..." she stared at him like she was trying to see his soul. "They are a shinobi group of amegakure" There was a tense silence, and obito was about ready to leave since he had to go and deal with Hanzo. 

"Well…this was fun, but I gotta go now…so bye-"

"Wait," The Uchiha paused and waited for the older woman to continue, "...who are these masked shinobi going around, and what do they want."

"...and line, hook, sinker" Obito was surprised that his plan had worked so fast. He wanted the Akatsuki to be aware of Danzo's people and get them suspicious, but he wasn't expecting Konan to immediately fall for it.

"The answer is sort of complicated, but to put it into simple terms? A shinobi from Konoha is basically going behind his Hokage back to gain power." 

"What" Obito shrugged

"Do you wish for a more detailed answer?" Konan seems to think it over for a moment before nodding.

>Konan (LV - 70) The Paper Angel_OP=-38-->-20_

"I…yes, that would be preferable."

Chapter Text

__~RIN~__

"..and there. Doesn't that feel better?" Rin gave her best smile at the kid, Rujia, sitting on the bed. Despite her exhaustion, she had been working at the hospital all day, but nothing made her happier than seeing her patients finally heal up. The child hesitated before moving her arm around slowly; when she felt no pain, the kid's eyes lit up with joy.

"Wow! It doesn't hurt anymore! Mommy said it would never be fixed, right!" Rin laughed.

"Yep, usually it would since you didn't break your arm correctly, but with a bit of chakra and time- well, ta-da!" 

"Ch-ka-ra? Isn't that weird ninja's magic?" Rujia tilted her head, and Rin felt a flicker of amusement and fondness. Ruija had been in her care for the last two weeks, and it had been nice to see such excitement and joy from a normal civilian's kid.

"Well- sort of, yes" However, the next words made her fondness wither and die in her chest.

"Well, then, I want to be a ninja! After all, there are cool and-"

"No" The girl looked startled.

"Huh?" 

"No, you WILL not be a ninja. Do you understand?" Rin's voice was soft and stern, none of its earlier warmth present. 

"O-okay… I'm sorry…Rin-chan" The brown-haired girl realized what she had done and took a breath.

"I'm sorry, Rujia-chan, but I think that they are more fun to do than being a ninja. '' Rin stood up. "Come on, don't you want to show your mommy that you are all better now?" And just like that, the nervousness the child had shown was gone and replaced with a happy squeal. The girl practically jumped off the bed and rushed into the hallway, looking for her mother. Rin walked out, and after a short talk, she explained to Rujia's mom that her daughter should take it easy for a few days, but otherwise, she would be fine. In no time, the mother-daughter duo was gone, and Rin managed to stay composed enough to make it inside her office before she collapsed against the door. 

She could hear the words clearly, "I want to be a ninja," repeated in her head over and over like they were haunting her. She couldn't imagine it, seeing that bright, happy face crumble into tears as she had her first kill, as she saw her first death, as she saw her teammate die-

"Urg…" Rin let out a dry sob and curled up tighter into her ball, her eyes too dry to let out any tears. Suddenly her exhaustion seemed to hit her like an A-rank earth jutsu, but she refused to fall asleep. She couldn't. After all, she had 4 more patients to care for, and she couldn't fail them- not like she had to obi-

"Not like him…I can't fail like on- like I failed him " Rin closed her eyes briefly despite her earlier promise, and for a moment, she saw it. She saw the cave- saw the dust clearly- saw him there, still, silent, and oh so wrong-

"Rin? Rin? Could you open the door, please? I brought you some lunch?" A knocking came from the door, and a familiar voice followed, waking her from her memories. She stood up, shoving her emotion deep down, before opening the door.

"Minato-sensei?" Her sensei gave her a small smile and raised a bento box.

"Hi, I came to check up on you, and I brought some lunch. Kushina made it" Run felt her lips twitch into a smile. "Is it ramen? Because if not, we both know the result," Minato winced, knowing full well that his girlfriend was an excellent cook when it came to ramen but struggled to make anything else.

"Not really?" Rin raised an unamused eyebrow, and minato shrugged helplessly. "They are ramen dumplings, her own recipe."

"Well, thank you, Minato-sensei, but if you excuse me, I still have work to do" Rin accepted the bento and took steps forward to leave. Only to frown when her sensei shifted to block her from leaving.

"Sensei?..."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that" Rin gave a slow blink.

"Huh?"

"I have come to the conclusion that I have…not been a good sensei to either you or…kakashi" Rin took a breath. She could not remember the last time she had seen her remaining teammate, but knowing him, he was probably suffering worse than her.

"Yet instead of helping, I am here sulking in my grief ." 

“...so for that, I am sorry.” Rin stared at her sensei with shiny eyes. 

“Thank you..but it wasn’t your fault. As much as I wish I could simply place the blame on someone I know better…”

“War is not kind to even the best of people” Minato sighed and suddenly it seemed like he was 10 years older. “But even our own village was not the kindest” 

“What do you mean?” Minato pursed his lips looking hesitant.

“Well…Obito wasn’t treated the best by his clan, right?” Rin nodded knowing very well the discrimination her friend had faced. “Sakumo found out about it and mixed it with the fact that they wish to remove Obito’s sharingan from Kakashi's care…” Rin froze and she could feel the familiar sensation of anger growing in her heart rising to her throat.

“THEY WHAT?” Obito’s last act was to give his precious eye to Kakashi, the last thing either of them had from obito since they couldn’t even retrieve his body, and they wanted to take it? 

“Yes, I know Rin, but you don’t have to worry about it since it is being taken care of” The brown-haired girl frowned.

“By who?”

“Sakumo Hatake, himself” Minato licked his lips and winced looking uneasy “And I will say that he destroyed the elders in every possible way except physically so badly that not only did the Uchiha elders change their minds very quickly but Lord Third had to intervene” Hearing the news, Rin couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction at getting back at the clan that had hurt obito so much. Then she frowned at a realization

“Even Sakumo-sama is getting up to do something despite his grief and yet here I sit here hiding…” She closed her eyes and took a breath before opening her determined eyes. “No more”

“What?” Minato questioned, confused at her words.

“No more will I hide, Thank you Minato-sensei. I realize that hiding will help no one and that I am not the only one who misses obito.” her voice became softer “...After all that would mean he would have died for nothing” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__~OBITO~__

Obito sat in his cell bored out of his mind. Konan had taken him to one of the nearby Akatsuki bases and thrown him in a prison cell. The Uchiha had been expecting an interrogation or something but instead, he had been left alone for the last 2 hours. 

“It is strange, nothing has happened- or maybe this is a form of interrogation? ” Obito wondered idly, but if that was the case then the purple kunoichi was in for a shock because this was nothing compared to the solitude he felt while stuck in Madara’s cave. 

“Obito?” Swirly whispered quietly “What are we waiting for? I’m bored” Obito immediately reminded himself that he wasn’t alone and still had his strange friend.

“No idea, but what I find strange is that no one is here to guard us” Obito commented, after all, he had checked his map and there was no one outside his door. 

“Maybe they think you aren’t really strong?” Uchiha shook his head.

“No, because the purple woman saw what I did in the village and she was wary of me so it can’t be that” Swirly was quiet for a moment.

“Do you think maybe there is something special about the cells?” Obito shook his head again.

“Not- sure the bars are made from chakra absorbing metal but otherwise this is a normal cell. I honestly wonder what they are even thinking. If it had been anybody but me so long as they are a B-rank or above they can easily escape” Swirly went silent before letting out a groan

“Nope! I don’t understand! Humans are weird” The corners of black haired male rose into an amused smile. Obito could almost hear the childish pout from a swirly voice.

“I’ll be honest neither do I sometimes…neither do I” The two proceed to fall into a comfortable silence for a while until obito spotted a group of people approaching their cell. “Looks like someone is finally coming. Make sure to stay quite alright swirly?”

“Okay obito-kun” Obito stayed still as the door to his cell swung open and three figures walked in. The first was an orange-haired male with a serious expression who was none other than the leader of the Akatsuki himself, Yahiko. Then following right at his heels by either side of him were Konan and Nagato.

> Yahiko (LV - 62) Akatsuki’s Leader__OP=0_

> Nagato Uzumaki (LV - 45 {85})__OP=-35_

“Why does Nagato hate me more than Konan and Yahiko combined? ” Obito was puzzled as he hid it and waited for the other group to speak.

“Who are you, and what are your intentions?” Yahiko questioned staring deep into obito’s eyes, and the Uchiha had never been more glad to have been wearing swirly so his expression would be hidden. 

“...you can call me Tobi, and my intentions are simple” Obito smirked under Swirly’s mask “There is a group, who so happen to be my enemy, that for one reason or another has ended up here and is working to do something.” 

“Therefore you came to us, why?” Yahiko asked.

“I didn’t come to you, it was by chance that I meet your….subordinates while I was tracking them down and gained information about your group which gave me an idea” 

“You…wish to join forces, am I correct?”

“Yes, at least until I can find out what their plan is” Yahiko stood before turning to Nagato.

“Well?” Nagato looked at his leader and then to obito.

“He …is telling the…truth” Yahiko nodded and turned back to the Uchiha.

“Very well, you and I will join forces until this group has left the land of rain.” Obito smiled and stood up excited 

“Great! But we should lay down a few conditions for our partnership!” Yahiko nodded in agreement.

“Yes, mine is simple. Share any information you find, follow my orders, and don’t betray us.” Obito nodded, finding the terms easy enough to fulfill.

“Mine are also simple, don’t ask anything about me.” Yahiko blinked 

“That's it?” 

“Yep, easy right?” Obito then proceeds to raise his hand to confirm their deal. The orange-haired male stared before grasping obito’s hand in a tight grip.

“Very well, I look forward to working with you, TOBI” 

Chapter Text

__~KUSHINA~__

“Things have finally started looking up huh?” Kushina thought amused as she watched for the first time in almost a year since she had seen either Rain or Kakashi together, acting like children. Minato has invited the two over for dinner alongside Sakumo. She had been delighted when she had been told the news and went all out cooking every single type of ramen she could think of. The expression of bewilderment at her dishes from her guest felt worth all the work. Especially when she saw Rin teasing Kakashi to try some of them so she could peek under his mask only for the younger boy to pretend to be upset yet somehow managed to eat it without revealing his face. It caused Rin to become more and more determined so she tried to feed him another spoonful of Ramen only for Kakashi to evade them. 

It was such a childish thing to see, and yet it made Kushina revived that the two could still act their ages. Kushina crossed her arms and her eyes wandered to her fiance and sakumo sitting in the living room having a conversation. Or more specifically her eyes studied the white fang himself. The man still had that haunted look in his eyes but for the first time in months the bags under his eyes looked lighter and his cheeks had some color to them. The redhead glanced once more at the teens before going to join the two adults. She plopped herself down next to Minato and leaned close to him.

“Hey, What’s up with you two?” She grinned when she saw her love ears turn red at their proximity. It was such an addictive sensation seeing how much she could make her fiance blush just by being near him (Also very ego-boosting). 

“Not much Kushina-san,” Sakumo replied with a small smile. Kushina pouted “Just call me Kushina or else I’ll be calling you Sakumo-chan!” She mentally smirked when she saw the silverhead attempt to hide a grimace. Minato had finally recovered and spoke up.

“We were talking about giving Kakashi a break from his mission to help sakumo at the academy. Just for a little while” Kushina hummed and leaned back 

“...and how did kakashi react?” Minato chuckled nervously.

“We haven’t told him yet” Kushina laughed 

“Well you do know how he is going to react don’t you?”

“Yes…but I feel that it would be best if he didn’t go on any missions for a while since…well,” The three went silent at the silent implication. Kushina momentarily closed her eyes and calmed her emotions. Then in the next moment, she stood up with a huge grin.

“I leave you two to that, I’ll go and clean up the kitchen” The moment she reached the kitchen her smile dropped and she stared at the sink with watery eyes. She blinked a few times to clear them before she began to wash the dishes. She may not have been hit as hard or grieved as hard compared to the others but that was because she COULDN’T. 

She always had to have control over her emotions because if she didn’t and allowed herself to truly grieve then IT would break out and she couldn’t allow it. Kyuubi was a manipulative monster who took even the slightest bit of weakness in her emotions as a chance to break out. It had been her responsibility just as it had been her teacher’s. Therefore control over her emotions was a must. Most didn’t even realize it due to her personality, but she had a feeling Minato knew or had a feeling it was the case.

“After all I have been showing him some of the Uzumaki’s clan sealing arts and he should know that by now,” Kushina thought vaguely amused. She missed obito, he had been so much like her when she was his age. However, unlike her, he had been more selfless and impacted so many that it was just cruel of him to leave them all. She sighed and pushed her thoughts back before focusing on her task.

Before the redhead knew it their reunion was over and everyone was leaving. Kushina was finishing cleaning up when she sensed someone approaching her. 

“Oh Rin, what brings you here? Is it about the seal?” Kushina was a little upset that she couldn’t beat up whoever had the bright idea to put such a crappy seal on Rim to seal a tailed beast.

“Though I suppose it wasn’t meant to be strong after all” Kushina thought remembering how panicked her fiance had been when he teleported in front of her with Rin and Kakashi in his arms begging to save Rin. Thankfully the seal was fixable and she made it stronger. 

There had been a small debate about what to do with Rin since she was a child and there was a chance the 3 tailed beast would escape. However Lord Third declared that Kushina would care for Rin being a Jinchiriki herself. The Hokage refused to give into the council's demands and eventually very reluctantly they gave in, so every once in a while Kushina would check in on Rin’s mental strength and the seal on her stomach. 

“Oh hello Rin-chan, what's going on?” Rin looked around nervously before taking a breath and looking Kushina right in her eyes.

“I want you to teach me how to communicate with my tailed beast” Kushina blinked once, then twice.

“Why?...” 

“I want to see whether the three-tailed beast is cruel or not for myself.” Kushina wanted to reject her immediately because in her experience it always ended badly. However, before she could she noticed the hope and determination in her eyes, something she hadn’t seen before Obito’s death. Before she knew it she was nodding her head.

“Fine, come here tomorrow afternoon, alright?” Rin’s face brightened up and she nodded.

“Thank you Kushina, thank you very much” The Redhead gave the smaller girl a weak smile and only had a single thought.

“Well, those other-tailed beasts can’t be as bad as the Kyuubi considering it is literally a ball of hateful chakra.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__~OBITO~__

Working with the Akatsuki felt strange to Obito because he had become a part of the original members of the Akatsuki but as a helper, not its secret mastermind. He had changed up his looks wearing an Akatsuki robe and having a new mask that was painted a dull orange. He had to get his own mask since Obito had sent Swirly on a spying mission. 

It was perfect since the white creature could completely hide its presence making it a perfect spy (not only that but swirly could see the world and do anything so long as he didn’t interfere). However, what made his stay strange was how Nagito seemed to dislike him more and more as time passed. Obito could feel Nagato stare in the back of his neck as he kept talking with Yahiko over a plan.

“...Tobi? Tobi? Are you even listening?” Yahiko questioned more curious than annoyed and Obito shook his head feeling the glare intensify.

“Sorry, it’s just that your…uh friend is glaring really hard at me. Did I do something wrong?” The orange-haired male paused before shaking his head.

“Ah- Don’t worry about it. Nagato is just very overprotective and doesn’t trust strangers easily, however…” Yahiko frowned “It is strange that he is still so on guard dispute him telling me you haven’t lied to me” 

“I see…” Obito did not see anything but at the very least Yahiko trusted him enough.

>Yahiko (LV - 62) Akatsuki’s Leader__OP=25_

>Nagato Uzumaki (LV - 45 {85})__OP=-50_

Obito winced at the reminder of how much Nagito hated him and he decided he needed to talk about Nagito otherwise the red-haired male’s hatred could become a problem if left unchecked.

“Even if I can’t reduce his hatred we can at least come to an understanding, '' Obito wrote in his mental list and finally focused on his talk with Yahiko to finish it. Then finally 3 days later he corners Nagito all alone and the burst of KIller intent directed towards him is understandable. Obito raised his hands in peace.

“I’m not here to cause trouble, just want to talk” Nagato looked tempted to use an almighty push on obito so he added “Yahiko wanted us to come to talk” Then just like that Nagito crossed his arms still glaring at him but ready to listen. 

“Okay, I’ll be blunt, why do you dislike me so much?” The Uzumaki was silent for a moment before answering “I know who you are, and who your…people are” Obito immediately tensed as his mind flashed to hundreds of scenarios. Is Nagito a reincarnation? Does he know he is an uchiha? 

“Explain, please” Obito practically demanded tense and silently panicked. Nagito’s glare worsen 

“I know you are a shinobi of the hidden leaf, I know that the strange shinobi are part of Konoha and you are here to help them” Just like that Obito nearly collapsed in relief and he couldn’t resist a small chuckle to escape him. Nagito took it the wrong way and prepared to fight.

“Ah- Sorry. I’m not laughing at you, but rather at how wrong yet right you are”

“What do you mean?”

“I am indeed from Konoha and the shinobi are from Konoha, but we aren’t working together. These shinobi are being led by a man who had decided to betray his Hokage so Konoha isn’t at fault here.” Nagito stared at him for a moment before slumping his shoulders and retreating from his attack with great reluctance. 

“You aren’t lying” Obito shook his head smiling softly.

“No, I’m not. If I had to guess you lost someone to Konoha right?” Obito watches the Uzumaki flinch. The Uchiha had finally recalled that Nagito’s parents had been killed by shinobi of the hidden leaf which meant that his distrust of him stemmed from it. “Nagato-san, something you must understand is that I could care less about Konoha, but the reason I wish to protect it is because my precious people live there. Do you get it?” the redhead nodded.

“Yes…I don’t care for this nation but if keeping it safe keeps my frie- my family safe…I am willing to do whatever it takes” The Uchiha knew his firsthand hand having seen the depths the Uzumaki was willing to go from the anime.

>Nagato Uzumaki (LV - 45 {85})__OP=-5→0_

Obito decides that since they were already talking he might as well proceed with a plan of his. 

“Now that we understand each other, there is something I have been wanting to speak to you about…” Obito hesitates before deciding to simply rip off the bandage “I know about your eyes. Your rinnegan and how to use its abilities” 

As expected Nagito tensed up in shock, jaw clenched tight.

“H-how? Do y-you-?” Obito thought about responding before reaching up and moving his mask just enough to reveal his strangely colored purple eye. Then when he saw Nagito staring at him he activated the Rinnegan for a few moments and then put his mask back on.

“Tobi, Y-you have a rinnegan? No- wait, how can you turn it on and off?” Obito winced.

“Yes, I can” 

“If you can then why can’t...” Why can’t I? Was a silent question the uchiha heard yet wasn’t that easy to answer.

“Do you want the long or short answer?” Nagito started.

“...short answer?” 

“You weren’t born with it, your eyes belonged to someone else and were given to you as a baby” The Uchiha could sense the turmoil burning in the Uzumaki yet all the redhead did was continue to stare.

“...and the long answer?” 

“...a Crazy member of a clan that will not be named wanted to keep his eyes preserved for plans that will not be named but the only way to do so was to give his eyes to another person however due to the IMMENSE chakra needed to use much less simply exist with the rinnegan an Uzumaki was the best choice.” 

“Huh…” Obito watched with strange interest as Nagato seemed to go through the 5 stages of grief 10 times in a minute. Suddenly the redhead's legs trembled and gave out. The Uchiha was there in an instant catching the Uzumaki but froze as soon as the redhead was in his arms. Obito had always been a naturally affectionate person (Rin, Shisui, and Itachi could attest to this) but it had been over a WHOLE year since he had touched anybody or been touched without the intent to maim. The spots where Ngaito leaned against him tingled uncomfortably like he had ants crawling on his skin. He was trying his best to push down the urge to shove the body away. The Uchiha took a breath and picked up the unconscious male and carried him to a nearby couch. All the while Obito was taking deep breaths trying to ignore the shivers that ran down his spine with Gamer's mind’s help. Obito sat down sighing as he waited for the Uzumaki to wake up. 

Thankfully he didn’t have to wait long, only ten minutes before the redhead sprung up and looked sound where he was. Obito raised an eyebrow and in a tone dryer than the desert asked “Are you going to pass out or can I make a proposal with you?” The redhead coughed and sat down embarrassed at his display.

“My apologies…I wasn’t expecting such news and well…” Obito softens a bit.

“Fair enough, but you understand I can’t explain everything right? After all a shinobi’s got to have his own secrets and all” Nagito did not pout but it was a close thing.

“I understand, but what proposal are you talking about?” 

“It’s simple. I help train you with your rinnegan and you help me stop those traitor shinobi from Konoha.” Nagato looked thoughtful before growing up.

“Are you asking me to lie to Yahiko and Konan?” 

“No, you can say whatever you wish but I wish to have you on my side rather than against it” A look of understanding filled the Uzumaki’s face.

“That’s why you want to train me, so I can help you” Obito's smile went unseen beneath his mask but he got the feeling Nagito knew.

“Yes, the rinnegan is a powerful tool, but in the end it is a tool and If the wielder of said tool can’t use it then it is worthless in their grasp” 

“How? Sure I can see more than normal and use all elemental jutsus but that is all” Obito burst out laughing.

“Oh my- that is not even CLOSE to what the rinnegan can do but I can show you if you agree” Nagito was silent for a moment before raising his hand. The Uchiha’s grin edged on sadistically as he grabbed the hand in his clove one.

“Nagato, I am going to work you down to the bone so be prepared”

Chapter Text

__~KAKASHI~__

Kakahi felt numb and has for a long time. So It probably hurt more than it should have when he saw his packmate die for him. He knew it wasn’t his fault (Father, Alpha, told him so) yet it didn’t stop the thoughts from forming. It didn’t stop his emotions. It didn’t help that he hadn’t treated Obito like a pack for so long because of his stupidity. He had pushed the male away because Konoha, his supposed pack, demanded yet in the end it was obito who was actually his pack. He had known that deep done yet why had he pushed him away? Why had he hurt his pack?!?! Why why..why..why?

“Kakashi” The silver head’s eyes snapped open and stared at his father’s swollen eyes. “Breath please” Kakashi blinked realizing he had been holding his breath and exhaled. Shamed curled in his guts like a snake

“Sorry…” Sakumo sighed

“Kakashi, it wasn't your fault,” Kakashi nodded.

“I…know but…” Sakumo didn’t respond, instead, he leaned forward and hugged his son.

“I know, but you have a tall son,” Kakashi growled as a flash of anger hit him.

“STAND TALL?!? How am I supposed to do that when my friend- when my pack is dead and I couldn’t even give him a proper…burial…” Kakahsi broke down into sobs. Sakumo gently grabbed Kakashi's face and raised it so their eyes met.

“Kakashi, open your eyes and listen to what I have to say” Kakashi blinked his tears away and stared at his father with his singular eye. Sakumo sighed

“BOTH eyes, I want you to remember this well and for Obito to hear” Kakashi hesitates for a moment before Obito’s eye (never his, it was not his). Sakumo's eyes soften by a fraction

“Kakashi…Obito loved you and me so much. His wish was for you to live so if you don’t wish to stand tall for yourself then do it for him. Show him the world that he is unable to see and don’t waste it. I should know since I almost did until Obito dragged me out of it” Kakashi felt Obito’s Sharingan throb in his eye socket as if in agreement. The younger Hatake blinked back his tears and nodded determinedly.

“I understand…with this eye and with myself I’ll…show Obito what he is missing”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__~OBITO~__

Obito would have been groaning into his palms if it wasn't for his mask covering his face because he had discovered why the original Akatsuki had been so easily taken over. He had assumed that due to the death of Yahiko the rest of the Akatsuki would be too deep in their grief to do anything and while that was a reason it was not the main one. The Akatsuki for all their fearful power and reputation lack two important things, manpower and logistics. The Akatsuki had only a group of 50-60 shinobis and most were just barely above genin level not only that but the Akatsuki had no way to gain information, knowledge, or even supplies without stealing them or taking them from abandoned homes. Honestly, that Akatsuki shouldn’t have been functional at all and the reason it was even working was due to Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko. The three while lacking in strategic thinking and war strategies were absolute powerhouses which is why Hanzo is so wary of them.

“Oh my FUCKING god. How did you guys even start this organization?!?” Obito questions his entire body filled with disbelief. Across from him stood the Akatsuki trio who looked a mixture of annoyed, embarrassed, and ashamed. Yahiko was the first to reply

“To be fair many people hate Hanzo and so we got plenty of support and-”

“Stop- please just stop talking for a second '' Obito took a deep breath and pressed his fingers against each other (he was so close to praying to any god for patience). “Let me get this straight the only one of you that can read is Konan-” The three looked anywhere except at the uchiha “-and even with your shinobi training you never got taught strategies or how to create ambushes or even do sneak attacks?!?!” What the hell is Jiraija thinking?!? How in the name of all those things are any of his students function shinobis!?!?-

“-ah never mind I just remembered that all his students were geniuses or prodigies ” Obito almost gave in to the urge to remove his mask to rub his forehead but it was by a miracle he did not give in.

“Okay…okay this needs to be fixed…holy mother of chakra…” Obito whispered in disbelief and he could tell by the awkward squirming of the trio that they had heard him. The Uchiha was thinking about what to do about the situation when Yahiko opened his mouth.

“Tobi, it is not that bad. It has been working so far and nothing-” Obito raised a palm and the orange-headed male shut up.

“That is exactly why I am in complete awe that this operation has gone as far as it did, but thankfully the Akatsuki had only been around for how long?”  

“Nearly a year or 11 months' ' Konan hesitantly answered and obito gave another sigh in both relief and annoyance. 

“Well good news I can fix your system since you have no system and the Akatsuki is still new so things can still be implemented” Nagato raised an eyebrow

“...and the bad news?”

“The bad news is that doing so will put all of our current plans on hold” Just like obito expected the trio of young adults immediately began to interject but interestingly enough it was Yahiko who paused his complaints with a thoughtful expression. 

“...Is…this something we would need?” Obito was a bit surprised by the solemn tone the Akatsuki leader took but he didn’t show it and nodded. Yahiko bit his lip before nodding. “If you are willing to help us, then please show us what we are doing wrong” Both Nagato and Konan stared with wide eyes at their friend.

“Huh? Why would you do that Yahiko?” Nagato questioned. The orange-haired haired looked down.

“I will admit I have noticed some issues with our organization but I didn’t realize how big of an issue it could be until now” Konan gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Why didn’t you see anything?”

“I didn’t think, and that is the problem because we are running a rebellion out here with almost nothing and it isn’t just our lives we are endangering but also all those under us who have suffered greatly and wish for a brighter future” Obito watched with interest finally realizing why the Akatsuki had been able to go so long without a clear plan. It was all because of one person, Yahiko. He may be the weakest in the trio but his natural strategic mind, natural leadership skills, and charisma were off the charts. Realizing this Obito came up with a solution.

“If you would be willing, I could teach the three of you what you need to know” The three froze and looked at each other speaking a silent conversation before coming to a conclusion and agreeing. 

Before their first lesson, Obito had a few issues that he needed to deal with. There was only 1 of him and three young adults he needed to teach alongside organizing the Akatsuki. However his solution came in the form of a jutsu, or more specifically the shadow clone jutsu. Obito couldn’t make as many as he would like (unlike those cheating Uzumaki’s) but he could make up to 10 which was enough for his problem. Not only that but he also taught the trio the jutsu to increase their learning speed. Yahiko was able to make up to 3 which was normal, while Konan surprised the uchiha by being able to make 7! Then there was the Uzumaki of the group who could easily make over 40 shadow clones, but Obito had forbidden the redhead from making more than 10 at once.

“But..why? Both Yahiko and Konan can use as many as they want and look at how fast they are learning” Nagato was definitely not pouting but it was a close thing. Obito hummed as he organized a few papers.

“You know how a bag can only handle so much water before it pops?” Nagato blinked

“Yeah?”

“Imagine the bag is you, the water is your memories from the clones.” The Uchiha watched as the redhead paled “For now all your brain can handle is 10 clones but as time passes you’ll eventually be able to all the shadow clones you want to your heart's content. However, until then don’t try to overdo it unless you would like to go brain-dead or insane.” 

“I…understand. I didn’t think about that '' Honestly neither did obito, when he had first used shadow clone jutsu he had gone overboard and summoned nearly 30 but in his idiocracy, he had unsummoned all the clones. He ended up bursting a vein in his brain that should have made him braindead if not for his regeneration. Otherwise, training was going decent considering how much obito had to teach and that the teaching had to be in secret. After all, learning your leaders are being taught things they should have known would lower morale quicker than you can say Akatsuki. 

Obito was sitting down inside Kamui looking over some papers for weapon expenses. Honestly, he never thought he would be stuck dealing with paperwork but at least it was simple enough to do since the Akasuki finally had a decent system to run and with the use of clones. 

“And it only took 8 months…” Obito smiled for a moment before he slammed the stupid papers down and buried his face into his hands.

“WHAT…AM…I…DOING? I couldn't care less about this stupid Akatsuki. I just needed to keep Yahiko alive so why the hell am I helping so much?” It was stupid he had no reason to care about the Akatsuki. He had no reason to care…except that Obito had gone and become attached to the Akatsuki trio.

“Stupid uchiha genes, stupid Akatsuki, stupid me…” Obito decided to simply accept it since he couldn’t do anything about Uchiha’s emotions. At the very least his care for them isn’t one-sided.

>Konan (LV - 73) The Paper Angel_OP=66

>Yahiko (LV - 66) Akatsuki’s Leader__OP=68

>Nagato Uzumaki (LV - 50 {87})__OP=66

Obito placed his mask back on before leaving Kamui to meet up with Yahiko. When he got there he found the Akatsuki’s leader alone in his office with tension filling the air and in turn making Obito wary.

“Yahiko?” The orange-haired male looked up from his desk “What happened?” He knew it wasn’t about Konan or Nagato since both were currently downstairs and it wasn’t about the Akatsuki since they hadn't lost anyone or been attacked. The orange-haired male glanced down at the letter on his desk.

“It…appears that Hanzo wishes to make peace with us and wants to arrange a meeting…” Obito's blood ran cold as all he could now think about was Yahiko’s smiling corpse.

“Y-you didn’t agree…right?” Yahiko did not respond and Obito swallowed around the lump in his throat “YAHIKO, tell me you did not agree” 

“I don’t have much of a choice! Hanzo has all the power and resources of Amegakure at his disposal! We don’t. You said it yourself “The Akatsuki isn’t very strong. It is a miracle it hasn’t collapsed” We don’t have enough men to do a head-on assault against the entirety of Hanzo’s army” The uchiha was silent for a moment.

“You’re right, despite all the work done into fixing it, the Akatsuki is nowhere near the strength needed to beat an army, but at the same time, it doesn’t have to” Yahiko blinked and obito could feel a plan forming in his mind as he continued to speak. “Just like the Akatsuki rely on you for it to stay stable, the amegakure army relies on Hanzo the same way” Realization dawned on the other male’s eyes.

“...So if we kill Hanzo…”

“We won this pointless war” Yahiko had a smile on his face but it quickly slipped away. 

“There’s only one problem, how are we going to do that?” 

“I could easily slice the man’s throat in his sleep but that wouldn’t have the result we need.” Obito mused thinking about how easy it would be to use kamui and sneak attack the man. After all, Hanzo was only level 70, and Konan was stronger than him.

“What do you mean? Why would it matter how we kill him?” 

“We’re trying to shake amegakure foundations and if Hanzo is assassinated while asleep it might be a huge loss but he could be replaced. Not only that but no one would believe it was the Akatsuki who did it. What we need to do is prove the Akatsuki are stronger than Hanzo, we need to show we have what it takes”

Chapter Text

~RIN~__

Rin awoke with a gasp, and with wide eyes looked around her surroundings rapidly. She appeared to be inside some giant glass underwater dome, but what was even stranger was that outside of the dome in the water, there was absolutely nothing. No a single fish, plant, or even sunlight…just empty water.

“Is…this…” Rin finally realized where she was, she was inside the 3 tailed seals where she would meet the creature inside her for the first time. This place she was in, was just so empty and filled her with a deep sense of unease.

She remembered the warning Kushina had given her how she could give the signal and the redhead could pull her out but she had come too far to simply give up now. 

“Three tails…Where are you?” Rin looked around the Empty dome “Can you even hear me?” 

“I can hear you fine human ” Rin's head looked down and beneath her feet was a creature that resembled a tortoise yet not at all with three tails behind it, its armor-like skin and standing at the size that could rival even that of Konoha. What also caught Rin’s eye was the sheer amount of golden chains wrapped around the creature’s every limb and a sense of worry burst before she could contain it.

“Do those hurt?” The three-tailed blinked slowly 

“ What?”

“Ah! Sorry! I ment the chains after all they look uncomfortable and-” Rin felt like withering in her spot as she made herself into more and more of a fool in front of this huge and powerful creature.

“ No…It doesn't hurt. Whoever created this seal is a better seal master than all I have met before”

“Oh yes, Kushina is an incredible seal master” There was an awkward silence for a few moments before the three tails spoke up. 

“ What is it you want from me ?” 

“Huh? What?-”

“ Do you want my chakra, power over water, or influence? What is your purpose here?”  The girl was taken back 

“Nothing, I just…” Rin sighed “I just wanted to get to know you since we will be stuck with each other for the foreseeable future” The tailed beasts seem to stare right into her soul.

“He was right…you really are unique.”  Rin was confused but wasn’t able to voice it before the creature continued  “Very well, Rin Noronha show me how different you are”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__~OBITO~__

The day of the meeting with Hanzo was here and there was tension in the air and had been for the last few hours. Honestly, Obito didn’t blame the Akatsuki trio considering that they were heading to meet their enemy. They had brought no other Akatsuki members instead they had made shadow 20 clones and dressed them up with masks and Akatsuki cloaks to hide their identities. That way there would be no casualties that way and that at the very least made Yahiko relieved. Finally, after a long silent walk, they made it to the meeting place where there stood Hanzo in all his glory and behind 30-40 of his own men. 

“So you came. I knew you weren’t a coward yet I didn’t expect you to be so overconfident to bring so little manpower” Hanzo declared with no emotions.

>Hanzo (LV - 70) The Salamander__OP=0_

Obito knew the older man both from his own spying and from his knowledge yet there was something different about seeing him here in his own element that showed the Uchiha why he was such a threat despite his low level. It was because of his intelligence, his planning, and his manipulation.

“I was under the impression that this was a peace meeting” Yahiko replied with narrowed eyes and Hanzo nodded. 

“Yes, You are right, so I’ll get straight to the point.” The older man waved a hand over Yahiko’s group. “The Akatsuki has become a pain in my side that I would like to get rid of” Konan Stepped up

“Didn’t you proclaim that the Akatsuki were a simple group who you could stamp out at any time?” 

“Yes, I found the easier solution would be that we both collaborate and make Amegakure more powerful than ever” 

“ Well I’ll give it to him, he is very charismatic. ” Obito thought as he carefully watched the Hanzo and his men for any sudden movements. He then saw what he had been waiting for as the symbols of the ROOT members appeared on his map and began to slowly creep forward. Obito waited…and waited and waited…and 

“ NOW '' One  of the root members darted forward in order to capture konan as leverage, but instead caught obito in the process. Immediately a set of chakra sealing cuffs were placed on Obito's wrist and then he was put onto his knee next to Hanzo. Now with Obito as the hostage instead of konan, the plan could begin with no risk.

“ Now Yahiko, Light, camera, and action”  Obito waited to see if the orange head’s acting had improved and he did not disappoint. A wave of killer intent filled the air as Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko glared at Hanzo in shock.

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS HANZO?!?” Nagato screamed and Yahiko raised an arm to prevent Nagato from rushing forward.

“Hanzo…Explain yourself” 

“You see, the answer is rather simple. It has come to my attention that you, Yahiko have become quite the threat to not only me but also all of Amegakure. Therefore to free your little follower here I propose a deal. Their life for yours” Hanzo grabbed a kunao from his poach and threw it in front of the orange-haired male’s feet “What will it be?” With an empty look, Yahiko reaches down, picks up the kunai, and looks down at it, obito can sense Hanzo feeling like he already won which is why it must have shocked him with the boy instead pointing the kunai at him.

“I propose something else, You release Tobi, or I’ll use this very kunai to slit your throat open for everyone here to see” Hanzo chuckled

“I’ll admit I misunderstood your character, that was on me. But do you know what is on you? The death of this Tobi '' A blade was swung down towards obito and instead of decapitating him, all that occurred was that the blade went straight through his body. The Cuffs may stop Obito from using chakra from his body, but not from his surroundings (he will never stop thanking how overpowered Hashirama's cells are). Obito's body snapped up before Hanzo could realize what had occurred. The Uchiha had put him a Genjutsu from his Mangekyou Sharingan and he collapsed. Konan captured the ROOT Members with her paper and Nagato used his shinra tensei to block off the escape routes of the reminiscing amegakure ninjas. Once it was all settled Obito dragged the body of Hanzo to Yahiko’s feet. Yahiko brought the Kunai and with a quick slice Hanzo's throat was sliced open and in a few moments, he was dead. 

“Your leader is dead…what will you do?” The Amegakure Ninjas looked at one another before one of them took a step forward and kneeled. 

“We surrender” Obito smiled when he saw the slump of relief in the trio's shoulders, but his smile dropped when his gaze fell onto the Root members he had captured. 

“ Interrogation will be hard, mostly because they might not even remember the information, and also I will be too busy dealing with all the new paperwork for the new power the Akatsuki has just…gained… ” Obito felt a sense of dread at the realization of all the work that must be done now that the Akatsuki would be ruling Amegakure. “ ...so much for not wanting to be Hokage for all the paperwork”

Chapter Text

~R #^&@* IN &^ ????^&&* ISO %& BU ??? ~__

Deep in the consciousness of a young girl rested what humans would call a “Tailed Beast”. However, they preferred to be called by the name Isobu as it was what their father had named them centuries ago. Isobu missed those times they spent with their siblings and their father. They missed Asura and Indra before the fighting came. Isobu always hated fighting, Kurama told them it was because they were weak-willed. While their father said it was because they were too kindhearted. 

In the end, maybe they were both right because Isobu didn’t do anything and stood as a bystander as his family fell apart, and then allowed themself to be sealed. Isobu was the only one of his siblings who wasn’t all that upset to be sealed away in the beginning because then they wouldn't have to fight anyone and could just give a little bit of their chakra to their jailer in exchange for being allowed to sleep to dream of happier times. Despite not minding being sealed, Isobu never once talked to their jailer or got to know them. Why would they? Their jailer only ever needed their power not to talk with them and that was fine with Isobu. 

All that changed when one day Isobu slowly drifted back to awareness at the sensation of their prison weakening. A quick show that they weren’t going to be moved to another human but rather that their jailer was dying prematurely.

“That’s fine, I’ll just reform and go sleep in the ocean once I do,” Isobu thought, ready to go back to sleep when they felt a familiar chakra signature reach their senses. For a brief moment, all Isobu could think was Indra and they were awake searching for what they had sensed. Isobu saw a smaller human with that familiar signature but the more he looked the more they noticed. 

At first glance the Chakra had felt like Indra’s but at the same time not. This tiny human in front of Isobu was not his once human brother but a descendant. Isobu, of course, had known that Asura and Indra had children but he had never gotten the chance to meet them or their descendants so it was nice seeing family. Isobu's pleasant discovery was cut short when they noticed that Indra’s descendant chakra was slowly growing more and more furious by the second. The descendant began to slaughter all the humans around until none were left. Then the tiny human- no the child stumbled forward and collapsed in front of the dying body of their jailer. Words fell out of their lips in a jumbled mess and their chakra signature was so full of grief, the anger that had been there earlier was gone leaving devastation of emotions in its wake. Isobu suddenly understood what had happened, their jailer was important to this child of Indra’s and if their jailer died then the child would go the same path as Indra. Isobu could already see their chakra slowly corrupting and in a moment Isobu decided they couldn’t fail them like isobu had failed their predecessor. 

It was simple to allow their chakra to leak out; after all, the seal was the worst one they had ever been put into. If they truly wanted to it wouldn’t take much to escape but that wasn’t their goal so Isobu focused and a few moments passed before their jailer wounds were healed like they had never been there before. Isobu felt accomplished when they saw the descendant chakra change into one of pure joy and relief. 

They were going to go back to sleep before the child began to talk not to their jailer, but to THEM. It made them wary but all they asked was to give their jailer a chance. The child was odd yet…it was nostalgic and reminiscent of Indra before his fall. That nostalgia was the only reason why they allowed their jailer to be able to find them in their mindscape and Indra’s descendant was right. Their jailer- No- Rin Noraha, truly was different from any human they had met.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__~OBITO~__

“Finally, no more paperwork…” Obito could have cried tears of joy now that he no longer had the responsibility of taking care of the Akatsuki. Ever since the Hanzo deaths, more and more people joined their side and it just so happened that those people were actually skilled individuals that obito didn’t have to teach. This meant that over the course of the next few months, Obito slowly gave away the workload he had to trustworthy Shinobi (that he may have interrogated the hell out of) until he was finally free. Not only that but the Akatsuki trio showed that they had learned what they needed and no longer required Obito’s help. Before he knew it the Akatsuki was fully reformed and was finally able to function like an actual organization without the uchiha’s help. Honestly watching Akatsuki change from a small ragtag team to a full almost government-like agency made obito feel like a proud parent. Obito’s momentary joy was cut off when a familiar being sported from the floor like a weird-looking plant.

“Swirly, how was the mission?” Obito could practically see the white creature pouting despite the fact it had no face. 

“It was super boring Obito-kun…SUPER boring…” Obito winced knowing full well how impatient Swirly was and stakeout missions weren’t their favorite. 

“I know, I’m sorry but I have to finish some stuff up so I won’t be stuck doing paperwork anymore but also needed to watch Danzo” The uchiha had asked his friend for a favor, to watch Danzo for anything suspicious since they could trust swirly and their stealth skills were cheat-like. “Except for being boring, did anything happen with Danzo?” Swiry shook his head.

“No, nothing except that Danzo is trying to create a new seal type. Is that interesting?” Obito's eyes widened and almost desperately asked.

“Yes, that is very interesting. Can you tell what the seal was?” Swirly puffed his chest out in pride

“Of course, Madara-sama taught me! And don’t you remember that it was Swirly who removed your heart seal?” Obito cringed at the image but nodded.

“Yes, I do. Now please, what was the seal?” 

“It is a seal for controlling and for locating however it is so poorly done! Swirly could have done better with no eyes!” Obito sweatdropped.

“Swirly…you have no eyes…”

“Exactly! Swirlye's point is proven” Obito chuckled for a brief moment before focusing on the new information given to him. It made sense that Danzo was making a new seal, being the controlling bastard he was, but why would he add a location-

Obito's eyes widened and he almost felt stupid when he remembered that he had taken out three members of Danzo ROOT. His organization being so small at the current moment and his members gone without a trance anyone would make any sensible shinobi paranoid. Obito groaned because now he knew why Danzo was being so cautious and made it so hard to gather any incriminating evidence against him! It was all Obito's fault that he had activated the old man’s guard. 

“Obito-kun? Do I have to go spying again?” Obito shook his head feeling disappointed that his plans turned to dust in seconds. 

“No, there would be no point, right now Danzo realized that someone was either onto him or watching him so he wouldn’t do anything bad for a while if he is as smart as I know he is” Obito knew one thing about Danzo and that was is that the older male was very patient and he wouldn’t do anything careless. Swirly perks up

“Does that mean I am done?” Obito smiles and nods.

“Yup, you are relieved from your duty to go back to exploring or whatever” The creature cheers and begins to sink into the floor “Make sure you aren’t caught swirly!”

“I won’t! Bye bye!” His friend replies before he is gone to god knows where but so long as they stay out of sight and don’t cause trouble the uchiha could care less. Obito sighs, staring at the floor for a moment unsure what to do. He wanted to gather data about Danzo ROOT but when he had tried all the documents were gone. On the other hand, if he used the ROOT members then Danzo had multiple ways to either kill the members before they could confess or make them appear as an enemy spy that had infiltrated the hidden leaf. What also didn’t help was the almost blind trust the third Hokage had with his once teammate so anything said against him was shut down because “Danzo wouldn’t do that.” or even “Are you sure it wasn’t a misunderstanding?”

“Why is everything so conflicted?” Obito threw himself onto a nearby couch and stared up at the ceiling feeling exhausted all of a sudden. He had thought that he was finally done…that he could finally…go home. He was to get back to hanging out with Rin, training with Sakumo, cuddling with his brothers, hell he wouldn't even mind going back to constantly fighting with kakashi. He just wanted to be back with his friends…his family…his…precious people. However, he couldn’t go back yet after all he was doing all this for them, to keep them safe, even if it hurt he would not do what it took. “No rest for the wicked…I guess” The Uchiha knew that he was 16 years old but at the moment he felt so much older and knowing that only he knew, knowing what would happen if he failed to change it, only made the weight in his chest heavier. 

Obito wasn't sure how long he sat there before there was a knock at the door of his office-yet not. He could tell it was Nagato and Konan but right now he just wanted to be left alone so he ignored it in hopes of them leaving. The duo had either not gotten the hint or simply didn’t care but knowing them it was probably the former. Konan immediately noticed him lying on the couch and frowned. 

“Is Tobi sleeping? Here? Didn’t Yahiko give him his room?” She whispered curiously to her teammate. After all, the obito mask hid his face quite well and that was the point. 

“Yeah, but he barely if at all uses it,” Nagato whispered back. The two proceeded to stare at the Uchiha for a moment. “Should we leave?” Nagato questioned and obito was tempted to continue pretending to be asleep before finally deciding to simply get this over with. 

“No, it’s fine. What do you need?” The twin yelps he was given would have been hilarious under normal circumstances but right now Obito was too done with everything to care. 

“Ah- Sorry for disturbing you Tobi, but we have an issue that has arisen and we needed your input” Konan replied apologetically. The black-haired male raised an eyebrow.

“You came to me with an issue about the Akatsuki even though I am not a leader or even a member? But rather an outsider?” After all, Obito had helped but he had no obligation to do so anymore the duo knew it if their expressions were anything to go by. “You know what? Just show me the issue but you three will handle the solution understood?” Konan nodded looking a bit ashamed and she handed him the papers but Obito stopped her. “No…just no more paperwork just summarize it for me”

“Well, it appears that Hanzo has been heavily taxing the citizens to fund his military making it pretty strong but failed to provide or help the people. We don’t have enough money to help.” Obito hummed

“And taxes?” This time Nagato explained. 

“We thought about it, however, the people have no money due to the extreme taxes in the past, and doing so will only harm them more.”

“So basically we need money to fix Amegakure but we have no money and can’t get any money to fix the village and tax and get money. It is a paradox” Konan added bitterly and Obito understood. After all, you just found out that all your efforts to fix your home have been halted because you have no way to fix it.

“What about trade? Or exchange of goods with other villages?” Obito asked and Konan shook her head. 

“We can’t for a few reasons first, we have no goods to sell. We can barely support ourselves, we have nothing to sell, second our reputation in war due to Hanzo leaving us in relatively bad relations so no one wishes to trade with us. Then lastly even if we had goods to sell we have nothing unique that other villages would want from us. All our efforts were spent on advancing our army that we have no special goods to offer.” Obito leaned back and crossed his arms thinking. 

“ Money…army…military…money…unique to them…military…mercenary-' ' Obito's eyes flew open as the idea hit him like a Rasengan to the head.

“What about using our armies?” Nagato blinked

“Ummm what? Can you elaborate tobi” Obito rolled his eyes but explained. 

“Well ever since the war began there has been a lot of missing-nin or not enough manpower for missions so what we do is give out our army-like mercenaries and get paid for either capturing rouge shinobi or completing missions that other villages have not been able to do since the war began like escort missions?” Konan's eyes also went wide.

“That might work…I need to go talk with Yahiko about this. Come Nagato- thank you Tobi bye-” Then the duo was gone and the uchiha was left alone once again. The event made Obito realize that the Akatsuki still needed him yet Obito wanted to go home. 

“Then, why don’t I?” Obito may not be able to go home yet but…that didn’t mean he couldn't visit to see how the village is with his own eyes. 

Chapter Text

__~Danzo~__

Danzo knew something was…off, yet he couldn’t quite place his finger on it. He had checked, and there was no evidence of anything being wrong. If anything, everything was going perfectly, so why was he feeling so anxious? 

It was because his intuition and instincts were going off, and a shinobi who ignored them was a dead one. However everything was calm so Danzo didn’t think much of it until one day one of his private shinobis vanished, but things had started going downhill for him long before then. Minato’s Team went for a mission and returned missing a member.

It wasn’t anything special to Danzo, especially when he heard it had been the Uchiha, which had made sense considering how worthless the child had been for their powerful bloodline. However, what drew his attention was what the young Hatake brought back with him. A sharingan, and not just any sharingan, but one from that halfbreed uchiha. Danzo had felt disappointed, of course, since he had dismissed the child, thinking them too, unlike an actual Uchiha to have their eyes, and yet the evidence was in his face. If he hadn’t ignored the child, then he could have used them to help Konoha in the future, unlocked their potential, and finally, those Uchiha bastards would finally be good for something. Even more disappointing was that the child was an orphan and an outcast; no one would even care or notice the child missing.

“Such a wasted opportunity….” 

Danzo had wanted to get his hands on a sharingan to unlock its powers and use it for Konoha, but he had never found a chance. The Uchiha went through measures to ensure their Sharingan was secure, and unlike a Bakugan, a Sharingan could not be activated or deactivated once removed. This meant that to get a usable sharingan, you had to take it from an Uchiha while they had it active, which just wasn’t possible from their corpses. Worse, trying to remove it from the young Hateke wasn’t possible, considering all the influential figures around him. 

Though in the end the boy ended up being the least of his worries as Danzo watched more of his ROOT members go missing and his plans with Hanzo go south as if someone knew of them. If that was the case Danzo was going to find them and deal with them by any means necessary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__~OBITO~__

“Oh why am I here..? This is just a bad idea…I should leave,” Obito muttered to himself, regretting every decision he had ever made in his life. Here he stood at the outskirts of Konoha waiting to see his friends yet his rational mind kept shooting at him all the things that could go wrong with this. His mind and heart raged in a war that eventually ended with his heart winning. 

“Just a peek. I just want to see how they are. “Obito compromised and began to sneak into Konoha, which shouldn’t have been as easy as it had been. He made a mental note to ensure that the Akatsuki’s own security wasn’t as bad as this. Going through the villains underneath the bright moon felt…nostalgic. Sure, obito may have never indeed seen the village as his home or could have cared if it was wiped out, yet it didn’t change that the Uchiha had grown here. He had friends and his two brothers here. Obito finally reached his first destination, the hospital, where he could sense Rin’s chakra. He landed on the top of a roof as he stared at the familiar yet unfamiliar figure of Rin. He knew it was her, yet it was staring because she was so much older than Obito remembered her, older than she ever got. Her hair was reaching just past her shoulder, and she was wearing the usual doctor’s coat. Everything combined made Obito so…so proud, so happy to see what Rin accomplished. Obito had to force himself to avert his eyes because he just couldn’t stop staring at Rin, who was looking so full of life, but he managed and began to move again. He sensed some familiar people, and his heart leaped to his chest in relief. It would appear that Sakumo was visiting his sensei and kushina, considering he was in their house. As much as Obito wanted to see his sensei, Sakumo, and Kushina with his own eyes, there were no windows to look inside, and going closer would risk his identity being revealed as Obito was aware he was not nearly as skilled as those 3. 

However obito was satisfied knowing that sakumo was still alive along with his sensei and kushina. Therefore with one last longing look at the building he began to look for kakashi. At first, he couldn’t find the silver-headed boy until Obito recalled a place he would be.

Sadly, obito’s guess was correct as he watched from the treeline as the young Hatake stood in front of Obito’s “grave.” Guilt rose from Obito’s stomach and traveled up his body, but he pushed it down as he reminded himself that things could have been so much worse if he hadn’t faked his death. Rin would have been dead, Kushina would have been dead, Minato-sensei would have been, and basically everyone he cared for would have been dead.

“In the end for them, to keep them safe even if it hurts they will be- no they will stay safe.” This was Obito’s goal, his reason, his will and determination.

Obito watched for a moment as Kakashi adjusted the beautiful white flowers on his grave slab before standing up. No words were uttered, yet all was spoken by the look on Kakashi’s face. There was a brief moment of peace before it was broken when Kakashi’s eyebrows burrowed, and he began to look around, confused.

“Obito…?” The uchiha in question froze and immediately withdrew into Kamui in fear of being discovered. Once he landed in his safe space he opened a small gap to watch kakashi sniff around before his shoulder’s slump down. “Just my imagination…” Kakashi uttered looking defeated before walking away, Obito was confused but a chick status check told him everything. 

_Kakashi Hatake(LV- 69)- The Prodigy Hatake _OP=98_

• Misses Obito Uchiha, his pack member, like a lost limb
• He feels like he is hallucinating since he believes he has smelled Obito’s scent. 

(Currently a bit hungry and knuckles aching)

Obito had never felt so stupid when he realized that his cover had nearly been blown because he overlooked one thing. Hatake’s didn’t rely on chakra sensing or other normal methods but rather their own physical traits, like smell. Thankfully, Kakashi was too deep in his head to think logically (which Obito couldn’t help but despise deep down because it was his fault), yet there wouldn’t be a second chance. Obito couldn’t keep making stupid mistakes like this, in this cruel shinobi world even the smallest of mistake lead to severe consequences and Obito column’t allow that. 

The uchiha closed the window and looked around kamui with a thoughtful expression. He knew he could use Kamui to erase, hide, or keep things here but how far could he push it? Could he use Kamui to hide his scent, his noise, his movements? It would take a lot of expirentmenting, but first he had to go check on the AKatsuki trio and see their progress with their current plans of making the akatsuki into a mercenary group. Obito closed his eyes allowing himself a brief moment to dwell in his emotions before the gamer mind kicked in. When it did Obito opened his eyes and came out of Kamui in front of the trio with determined eyes hidden beneath his mask.

Chapter Text

__~KUSHINA~__

"I'm sorry. Could you repeat that?" Kushina's jaw was nearly to the floor, and her eyes were wide and in disbelief. The doctor simply laughed softly at Kushina's reaction. "I said that you are currently 3 weeks pregnant as of today, dear." 

"But me and Mina use protection, and I am on birth control, so how?" The female doctor looked through her notes, making a quiet hum.

"That would be because of your Uzumaki heritage, making most medications ineffective, and with your heightened vitality, your chances of having children are nearly 10 times more likely than a normal woman your age". Of course, Kushina could see the logic, but it was still a shock. The red-haired woman looked down at her stomach and gently touched it, yet worry still plagued her. After all, what would happen to the seal? Would it hurt her baby? Would it weaken and allow the Kyuubi to escape? 

The doctor, misunderstanding her worry, tried to assure her, "Don't worry dear, I know shinobi like you worry about children, but you are still in early enough stages to get rid of them-" The doctor wasn't able to utter another word as they collapsed under the seer amount of Kushina' killer intent. 

"DON'T EVER SAY THAT AGAIN". The doctor rapidly nodded, and the tension in the room vanished as Kushina controlled herself. "Sorry…just this baby is mine. Nothing will take them from me." The doctor gave a shaky smile.

"No, no, the f-fault is m-mine. I was b-being inconsiderate". The rest of the visit passed quickly; before Kushina knew it, she was back home. She was lost in thought, thinking about Minato's reaction. Not because he would not want the baby, quite the opposite, considering he was born an orphan and has always wanted a family. She was worried because Minato had been so busy recently taking care of special orders from the third Hokage. If he heard about her pregnancy, there was no doubt in her mind he would be torn on whether to stay with her or follow orders. However, she won't get anywhere by keeping it a secret, so it would be best to just tell her husband. She begins dinner while waiting for Minato to return.

A few hours pass before she senses her husband coming in 

"Hi, Mina! How was your meeting?" Minato smiles at her excitedly 

"It went great, no better than that. I have good news, Kushina," The redhead blinks and gestures at him to continue. "I have been selected as the next Hokage, the fourth one." Kushina's eyes widen, and she shakes happily before jumping into her husband's arms. The two hug for a moment before Kushina pulls away, laughing.

"I'm so happy for you, though I am a bit jealous that you managed to become a Hokage before me," She said with a pout. Minato leaned forward, giving her a grin.

"Well…you may not be THE Hokage, but being the Hokage's wife isn't so bad, right?" Kushina hit the blonde shoulder at his teasing, but her heart was full. She suddenly recalls her news, and her hands land on her stomach. Minato notices, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Kushina…? What's going on?" 

"I also have…my own news. As you know, I went to the doctor today…" Minato looks more worried now, so Kushina hurries up and blurts out, "...and I found out I'm pregnant!"  Minato gave a slow blink

"Pregnant?"

"Pregnant," Kushina confirmed, and in the next moment, Minato collapsed onto the floor. The redhead fondly sighed as she picked the man off the floor and dropped him onto the couch with no struggle. She went to get some tea and sat next to her husband's unconscious body. It only took a couple of minutes before Minato's eyes widened, and he stared up at her with eyes full of emotions. 

"So.. it's true, you're…" Kushina smiled 

"Yes, with your child." Minato's eyes went shiny, and he carefully placed a hand on her stomach.

"My child, my baby, OUR baby…" He whispered in awe, tears stubbornly clinging to his eyes. Staring at those loving blue eyes, having Minato with her, having this life…, and having a chance at a family after losing her clan made Kushina feel so lucky.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__~OBITO~__

If Obito was honest with himself, the Akatsuki was starting to look a bit like the original Akatsuki. The cloaks and Trio’s attitude mixture looked a lot like the anime Akatsuki. Seeing Yahiko act so seriously that Obito could almost mistake him for Pain was weird. However, as soon as the orange head was out of the public, he went back to his carefree self. Yahiko had become the figurehead of the organization with his leadership, Konan had become the secretary, and Nagato was sort of the bodyguard and assistant. Funny enough, Obito filled in Zetsu’s original role as the spy and information gatherer. He could summon many shadow clones for a non-Uzumaki, and his Kamui and gamer skills made infiltration easy. He would have been concerned about how easy it was if it did not benefit him.

Today was officially a month since he had visited Konoha and had not returned. Despite finding jutsus that could conceal his scent, he was still afraid of being discovered. Especially when Danzo has been acting strangely recently, and Obito has yet to find the cause, which irritates him. Obito shook his head, telling himself to think about it later because he had to bring the Trio his latest information “obtained” by his clones. He walked into the meeting room and smirked, seeing the piles of paperwork in front of Yahiko that the Uchiha no longer had to do. Kanon seemed to be feeling sympathetic and taking a small portion to help. The orange head looked at her like she was his savior. Obito snorted quietly but wasn't quiet enough because Yahiko's head whipped around to glare at him.

"What are you laughing at?" Obito tried to play innocent.

"Me? Laughing? You must have the wrong guy," Yahiko glared, intensified

"Just because you have a mask doesn't mean I can't tell your expressions; I can practically feel it." This time, obito didn't bother hiding his laugh. 

"Tobi, please stop teasing Yahiko. We have other matters to discuss.". The orange head sobered up, looking more serious. 

"That's right, we found we need more manpower." Obito raised an eyebrow

"Elaborate"

"We have been using more members of the Akatsuki to rebuild and assist civilians, so we don't have enough people to go on a quest for more money." 

"And..Neither can you go?" Both Konan and Yahiko sighed in unison.

"No, we…well, have been too busy managing everything, especially Nagato, considering he had been using so many clones to speed up the process." Obito nodded and looked up, thinking for a moment

"Any ideas or..?" 

"Well…" Yahiko glanced at Konan, who nodded, "We have discussed bringing in outsiders to help."

"Like who?" 

"Like missing-nin from other villages," Obito wanted to shout at Yahiko, but his gamer mind kicked in, and he thought about it logically. Missing Nin lived out in the wilderness with nowhere to go. They were usually strong and easily swayed by money. However, on the other hand, they had betrayed their original village or were once criminals.

"But why does that matter, all shinobi would have been considered criminals in my original world." Obito thought the idea had some merit and said so.

"I think it is a good idea depending on who you decide to recruit, so if possible, would you allow me to overlook the design process?" The duo strangely relaxed instead of becoming angry.

"That's fine."

"You are surprisingly trusting and not as annoyed as I expected." 

"Why would we be annoyed? You are a good judge of character, well better than us, at least." 

"Huh…and you don't think I might double-cross you and bring horrible people?" 

"No, if you really wanted to do something, you wouldn't have tried to help us, so yeah, we trust you," Yahiko explained.

"Holy hell, these two are so naive; no wonder my other self could trick them so easily!" Obito was deeply concerned; however, at least it was him they seemed to trust. 

"Alright… I'll go make a list of candidates, and we can choose together," Obito suggested, and the orange head nodded before frowning. 

"Before…you can help with this paperwork-?"

"Nope! Good luck"

"Damn it!"