Minato Interlude

I could tell you exactly where I was when the war started. The third war that is.

I was with Kushina walking back to our new home after trying to see Hana. It's been years since either of us have seen him for longer than a short greeting, not since Mito-sensei died, so when he came up in conversation, we decided to pay him a visit, see how he was doing.

We both heard about what happened with him and Yoshino, but he was out on a mission by the time we found out, so we couldn't do anything for him.

It's a terrible situation, but I've talked with Shikaku on multiple occasions and it's clear that he isn't any happier than anyone else about the situation. Not only did he have to marry someone he's never even had a conversation with, but he had to marry someone who was still in love with another.

It's an awful situation for everyone involved and for once it makes me glad to be a civilian born. Which brings me back to Hana.

I would say Hana is kind of my first friend, depending on how you look at it, since we first met when he was undercover, but I can at least say he is my first friend if you exclude my girlfriend Kushina.

Which again, brings me back to Hana. Kushina confided in me how she used to have a little crush on him and how she was unfair to him because he didn't reciprocate.

I'm not worried about them ever doing anything though, despite what some people I've talked to have said, I trust Kushina's love, and I trust Hana to be as kind as Mito-sama said he is.

But I do worry 𝘧𝘰𝘳 Hana. Because not only can I tell you exactly where I was when the third war started, I can tell you exactly where I was when the second started.

I was playing in the park, trying to make friends who can understand me. Because even if I was ahead of my peers, I was still just a kid.

Hana, however, was graduating the academy only one year later, before I even entered, and he's only a year older than me. By the time I entered the academy he was already fighting in the war.

By the time I graduated, the war was over and Hana was already being sent on solo ANBU missions into enemy territory.

So, I worry for my friend. He has spent pretty much his entire life in ANBU, not that I'm supposed to know that. That's why I don't blame him for seemingly abandoning Kushina and I. It's simply all he knows, the next mission.

Which is why I want to help him, to try and get him to just relax and have some fun with friends doing more simple things, like board games or something.

Even then, if I ever managed to convince him to hang out, he usually just wanted to spar anyway.

That's another thing about him, the way he fights is insane. I don't like to point it out, but I know I'm more talented than the average Shinobi, Hana even acknowledges that I am more talented than him, and he gets annoyed if I reject it.

Saying that claiming his victories is due to talent undermines all of the work he puts into being as strong as he is. That is something I will always admire.

The sad part is that it's true.

At the start, he would always win our spars, then when I complimented him he would say, 'it's just a measure of experience, not skill, you're still better than me.'. I didn't understand it at first, but I came to realise why he sounded so off when he said that.

He was jealous. Of me. The thought is so ridiculous that it made me laugh out loud when I first thought it. He would beat me in a fight and then be jealous of me. I would wonder what he's jealous off, that I can lose better than him?

So, it would always make me laugh when he said anything to that effect.

But then I won.

I started winning. More and more the spars went in my favour. At first I thought he was sandbagging, so as to make me feel better after the constant losses. Then I saw his face before he could hide it. The frustration, the pain, the jealousy.

It was then I realised the truth of what he was saying, he could just see the inevitable that I could not.

Hana's fighting style is more mental warfare than physical, he uses tricks and surprises and unpredictability to win his fights.

But as I gained more experience, I was able to predict, to dodge, to keep my calm and suddenly it was just a straight up fight. One that I would always win.

Over, and over, and over again.

I thought he would become resentful. I thought about sandbagging, but I knew he would notice and that would just piss him off more. I worried that I would loose my friend.

But then, for some reason, the opposite started happening.

He started smiling, a wide, wild smile that I'd never seen on his face, but he was 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺, happy to lose. It was so confusing that I couldn't help but ask why, why do you seem happier to lose than when you were winning?

His answer forever changed the way I view the world.

"What, are you as stupid as Kushina keeps saying? What do you learn when you win? Every loss is a lesson, and if I want to be a Legendary Shinobi, then I need to learn a lot. Losing against you? I can feel myself improving faster than ever before now that your experience has caught up. Sparring against someone as talented as you is a rare treat, so come on, let's go again?"

You learn more through a loss than a victory. The way he sees the world never ceases to amaze me. As I got stronger, he started enjoying out fights even more. When I 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, he seemed even more happy than me and demanded I use it in every spar, no matter that he could never win.

Even if at the time I was actually still pretty new to the Jutsu, and recently, I mastered Sage mode, and I really want to show him.

It just makes me want to see him again even more, to catch up and see how he's doing, if he is ok with what happened with Yoshino. I know I wouldn't be able to accept if someone tried to take Kushina away from me, in a way I respect him for accepting it, but a larger part of me wants to ask him why. Why would you not fight for her?

I'm sure he has his reasons. But that isn't what's important right now. The third war was declared a little under a year ago and I still haven't see anything of Hana.

He can't be dead, can he?

I shake away the thought and focus on the present. Me and Kushina were called in for an important meeting. In fact, it's so important that I am right now, standing in a room with the Hokage and Takeshi as well as the Sanin.

No one says anything as we enter so I decide not to speak up and me and Kushina take a seat at the round table next to Jiraiya-sensei. Takeshi nods after we sit and starts talking.

"The purpose of this meeting is simple, we are reorganising our greatest assets as a new one need to be considered. The other villages are placing most of their focus on us, assuming us to be the greatest threat. They are not wrong. You see, as we are all aware, among us are the greatest ninja of each generation, the Sanin speak for themselves and then there's you."

Takeshi pauses and everyone looks directly at me, which does make me feel a little nervous, I mean, these are the greatest ninja of their respective generations! But Kushina is here so I make sure not to crawl into myself.

"The first true Sage since Hashirama himself, Minato Namikaze, you are truly an impressive talent and an incredibly valuable asset. Which brings me onto the other part of this meeting. For the first time in history, two Sages have been born in the same generation."

I can't help the wry smile at the indirect insult to my Sensei as Jiraiya surely can't be called a 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 Sage, since he hasn't mastered the ability like I have.

Then the rest of his sentence hits me and a pit forms in my stomach as I briefly consider the repercussions of one of our enemies having access to a Sage, as one myself, I know just how dangerous we are. Thankfully Takeshi dispels my worries by smiling.

"Konoha has officially got two Sages."

After that bombshell Kushina, the Sanin and I all have our jaws drop. The other two clearly already knew, but how many Sages have there been?

Hashirama, Jiraiya and me. Three Sages, ever, and now there's a forth, not even a decade after me. Not only that, but all four Sages have been from Konoha, what are the odds of that?

Orochimaru speaks up first, seemingly the most interested in the new Sage.

"And where is this new Sage of ours? Who is it?"

Man, I don't want to be mean but he sounds really creepy when he's excited about something.

Takeshi's face twitches in response as he speaks with audible vexation.

"He should be here right now, but he has a bad habit of not taking orders as seriously as he shoul-"

*Bang*

The door is slammed open as a familiar figure burst through.

"I'm sorry I'm late! I was having sex and lost track of time!"

Ahem.

I feel my cheeks flush slightly. What kind of excuse is that!?

Who even just walks into a room like that?

Thankfully Kushina doesn't hold my restraint and asks (Read: demands) what I want to know.

"WHO THE HELL ENTERS A ROOM LIKE THAT!!"

"Who else but a man who was just having sex?" Is the confused sounding response.

But wait a minute, I finally actually take in his appearance and I can't help but gape, hardly noticing Kushina pointing at him and also gaping beside me. Though I do notice the way Tsunade reacts weirdly.

"Hana!?" I exclaim in my shock.

"Oh, hey Minato, what's up, heard you became a Sage, nice going." He answers casually, clearly not sharing my shock about this situation and even giving me a thumbs up.

*Ahem*

I'm snapped out of my stupor by Takeshi clearing his throat and all questions are put on hold as we take our seats, Hana sitting next to Kushina so she is between us.

I guess that's why we couldn't find him then, he was out becoming a Sage. Now I want to fight him even more. With new tricks at his disposal, I don't doubt he will win the first few bouts until I learn them.

"As has been made clear, this is Konoha's other new Sage, everyone, meet Hanabira Haruno."

Hana does a little wave and Tsunade glares at him, I'm sure there's a story there, but no one offers an actual greeting and Takeshi continues before that can change.

"Now onto the important part. Thanks to the lessons of the last war, no one wants to prolong this one. This means that all the villages have deployed their junchurriki, even Kumo who's youngest jinchurriki seems to only be an early teenager.

"In response to this, we will be sending out you. Minato and Kushina, you two will head to the Iwa front to face the four and five tails. Jiraiya, you and Orochimaru will head to the Kumo front to face the two tails and the eight tails. Leaving Tsunade and Hanabira, you two will head for the Kiri front to face the three tails and the six tails."

I thought Tsunade would object to teaming with Hana, what with how she's been glaring at him, but instead she just gains a troubled look that I can't decipher and stays silent as Takeshi keeps talking.

"This war is bound to be much shorter than the last, but because of that the fighting will no doubt be far worse, thankfully we have a tentative agreement with Suna that we hope will evolve into an alliance, or at the very least a non aggression pact. This is why none of you will be heading to the western front. Speak to the commanders when you get there, I'm giving each of you authority over our troops' movements in your respective fronts. Dismissed."

Jiraiya and Orochimaru are the first to leave, followed by the Hokage and Takeshi, leaving Tsunade, Hana, Kushina and I.

Hana gets up to leave and I find myself standing next to him but not knowing what to say. Should I ask if he's doing well? He seems to be but it could be an act. Should I congratulate him? Offer a spar? There is just so much to say that I can't say anything.

Hana speaks for me thankfully. He pats my shoulder with his hand and gives me a smile.

"You look like you've grown, wanna fight when this is all over?"

I see. Thank you Hana. Once again, you have the answer. Why bother worrying about all this useless stuff, instead I should just focus on the now and the future. My friend is back, that's all that matters here.

"I'd be happy to kick your ass." I say to his retreating figure and he just responds by giving me the bird over his shoulder.

I turn to Kushina with a smile on my face and give her a quick kiss that hardly even has her blushing anymore.

"Let's go, the sooner we end this war, the sooner we can all go for ramen like old times."

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A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Uh Oh, what is this? Will today be a double interlude?!? Gasp! Is that a spoilers!? I'm going to throw a packet of tic tacs so hard the wind pressure alone will melt them into atoms

Please give me money, my dad keeps asking me if I'm making any more money from this and I say no and he says I should ask for money and I have to explain to him that doing so would be a dick move and make me feel like GhostyZ, yet here I am.

He is very persistent at being annoying but he makes me bacon sandwiches unprompted so that makes up for it mostly

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