20

Chapter 20: pressure's rising fast as lightningNotes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Minato watches with raised eyebrows as Obito loses control of the tree he'd been growing using mokuton, wincing when the branch whacks the boy across the face and knocks him flat onto his back.

"Are you okay, Obito-kun?" he asks, approaching his student's prone form and peering down at him.

Obito groans and blinks back at him. "That hurt," he announces, pouting.

Smiling in sympathy, Minato helps him back to his feet. "Looked like it," he comments, double checking to make sure Obito didn't end up giving himself a concussion. "That's the third time today," Minato notes worriedly. "Is something wrong?"

For a second, it seems like Obito might deny it. But then the boy is slumping as the fight leaves him in one go and now Minato is even more worried.

"It's silly," Obito admits, his ears turning red. "You're going to laugh at me."

Minato smiles and places a hand on his student's shoulder. "I'm not going to laugh," he promises.

Obito doesn't seem convinced. "No, you are. You totally should too. I know it's really stupid, but like, I can't help it, you know? And that just makes me feel stupider."

"Obito," Minato interrupts gently, "how about you let me decide that for myself? What's going on?"

Groaning, Obito plops back down onto the ground, crossing his legs and dropping his head into his hands. "It's about Raijin-san," he says finally, peering up at Minato to watch his reaction.

It takes some effort to keep from visibly reacting to the mention of his brother but Minato makes sure to keep his body language as open and welcoming as he can. He drops down to sit across from Obito and nods. "Okay. Go on. What about him?"

Roughly scrubbing through his hair, Obito huffs. "There's this rumour going around the Uchiha compound," he starts. Making a face, he amends, "Well, I'm calling it a rumour because there's no official confirmation, but everyone knows it's gonna happen. It's more of a matter of time considering the source is the clan heir himself and we all know it."

Minato frowns. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Raijin-san becoming Itachi-kun's mentor!" 

Frown deepening, Minato furrows his brows at his student. "What?"

Obito nods, looking upset. "Yeah! Itachi-kun told Shisui-chan, and Shisui-chan is a total gossip even though he's only, like, eight-years-old, so he went and told the aunties at the market who told the blacksmith uncle, and then the nee-chan who works at the grocery store found out from him and she told the tailor-baachan who told me. So, basically, it's totally true!"

Gaping at the barrage of words, Minato blinks, struggling to stay caught up. "Hang on," he says, waving his hand. "So, the Uchiha clan heir is the one who's claiming that Raijin is going to be his teacher?"

"Well," Obito draws out, shrugging, "he said that Raijin-san might become his teacher, if everyone agrees to it or something. But, like, why would anyone refuse? Itachi-kun is a genius even though he's only four, and Raijin-san is awesome and everyone knows that. People at the compound are talking about how it could be a good match and Itachi-kun would be good at fuuinjutsu which makes sense because Itachi is good at everything. And he's super cute too, Minato-sensei, and I can't compete with all that! What am I gonna do when Raijin-san ends up totally doting on the clan heir and forgets all about me?"

Minato gapes for a second, brain working overtime to comprehend everything. "Wait, wait, wait." He shakes his head. "Raijin might teach Uchiha Itachi? When did that become a thing? Who else knows?"

Obito looks at him weirdly. "Raijin-san had that dinner with the main family like last week, before his outpost mission, so I guess that's when they might have brought it up? Almost everyone at the compound knows, but I don't think people outside of the clan know, if that's what you're asking. I don't think they care enough but it's kind of a big deal for us—the clan heir could go into a dedicated apprenticeship instead of going down the typical genin route, so everyone is talking about how it'd just be an official recognition of Itachi-kun's genius."

Pursing his lips, Minato hums. "I see," he mutters.

He can't say he's surprised that the Uchiha would be pleased about that kind of acknowledgement, especially since Raijin is Minato's brother—the only living relative of a well known Hokage candidate.

Minato has been paying attention to the Uchiha's relations with Konoha ever since Raijin mentioned it to him, and he isn't happy about what he has observed so far. There really is a subtle sort of alienation in how the clan is treated by the village, and the isolation only increases over time. Where it might have only started with the civilians and their general wariness of shinobi and the police force, it has since spread to the shinobi population as well, who are growing bitter about how few Uchiha shinobi are suffering alongside the village in the war.

For their special role in the village, Uchiha shinobi are typically allowed to serve exclusively as members of the Police Force, provided they put in five years of mandatory service in the general shinobi corps. This means that, even as most other shinobi have been deployed to frontline battles and long outpost missions by the borders, the Uchiha have suffered comparatively fewer casualties as a whole since most of them get to stay behind in the safety of the village.

The Uchiha can come off as haughty regarding their exclusive status, and it doesn't help that they have so little to do with villagers outside their clan as a result of their headquarters being so far away from the village centre, and the fact that most of them don't bother having long-term interactions with anyone outside the Police Force.

Minato suspects that the Uchiha have begun to see the village's resentment of them too. The few Uchiha that do continue to serve in the shinobi forces tend to get overlooked for promotions because the higher-ups constantly expect them to quit and join the Police Force, which only fuels the exclusion, forming something of a vicious cycle. There hasn't been an Uchiha in ANBU in nearly thirty years—Minato had checked.

It's a problem. A big one. He has no idea how people haven't noticed or done anything about it. Why hasn't Hiruzen done anything about it? Surely the Professor has some idea as to what has been happening in the village under his rule.

So, yeah, when he considers all these things, it isn't surprising that the Uchiha would be hopeful about a Hokage candidate's brother potentially taking on their clan heir as his student. Being close to Raijin would naturally ensure that Itachi would interact with Minato himself. That's exactly what the clan needs right now to start pulling themselves back into the fold.

Minato wonders if Raijin is aware of all this too. Does his brother even want the responsibility of a student or have the Uchiha just run ahead and decided this all by themselves?

Of course, this is all assuming that the Sandaime even approves of the apprenticeship. Itachi is only four after all. That's even younger than Kakashi had been, and at least he'd had the dire circumstances of quite literally having nowhere else to go after his father's death.

And if the Hokage refuses, Minato can imagine the Uchiha are going to be anything but happy about it. They might even see it as a slight against them on purpose. They might not even be entirely wrong about that.

Wilfully or not, the Sandaime did let this happen, and Minato can't think of a single good excuse on the man's behalf. The whole situation is a rightful mess, and he has the distinct feeling that it's going to end up on Minato's shoulders to clean it up.

He doesn't know how he feels about his brother getting involved in all this on top of that.

On one hand, Minato is glad for it. He trusts Raijin and his judgement. His brother is the one who noticed the issue in the first place and Minato could trust him to help with any plans to solve the Uchiha's situation.

On the other, as excited as he is by the prospect of using Raijin's skill for bureaucracy, a part of Minato also wants to keep his baby brother away from the shark pool of politics where Raijin would maybe be safe.

Uncaring of his internal debate, Obito flops onto his back with a groan. "Minato-sensei," he whines, "Itachi-kun is totally gonna steal Raijin-san away."

Right. It's nice to see that his students still don't give a shit about his problems.

"I'm sure that won't happen, Obito-kun," Minato consoles. "Raijin cares about you. He would make time for you whenever you wanted."

Obito pouts, looking unconvinced. Minato kind of wants to pinch his cheeks. "But Itachi-kun is so sweet, sensei. And he's whip smart. Obviously, Raijin-san is going to like him better. I didn't plan for this, you know."

Eyebrows rising, Minato repeats, "Plan?"

Obito freezes like he hadn't meant to actually let that slip. He flushes and looks away, sheepishly plucking at handfuls of grass. "That isn't important right now," he deflects. "My point is: Raijin-san is gonna forget all about me if he gets a cute student like Itachi-kun and then I'll just have to go back to hanging out with the old grannies who man the fruit stalls in the market district."

"Plan," Minato repeats, undeterred. Struck by realisation like he has just been slapped upside the head, he asks, vaguely mortified, "Obito-kun, are you trying to steal my little brother?"

"No!" Obito refutes immediately, sounding impatient. "I'm trying to get him to steal me."

Blankly, the both of them stare at each other for a heartbeat.

"Is that even possible legally?" Minato blurts out. "You've technically been an adult since you became a genin."

Obito frowns thoughtfully. "I mean, you can still adopt adults, right?"

Tilting his head, Minato considers it. "I think that's more for inheritance and emergency contact purposes," he says.

"Well, I'm pretty sure it'll work itself out." Obito shrugs. "I did kind of adopt Kakashi after all."

"You did what?"

The boy flushes and avoids his gaze. "By Uchiha clan laws, I basically took him in when I gave him my sharingan."

Minato eyes his student. His bullshit radar is pinging, telling he really doesn't want to know. He asks anyways. "But you're only three years older than him. How…?"

Obito grimaces. His eye shifts, studiously looking at anything but Minato. "I, uh—I think we might be kind of married?" When Minato says nothing, he continues, rambling, "I mean, it's…complicated. The text is kind of confusing. Giving someone your sharingan brings them into the clan and makes you responsible for them, but the relationship aspect is kind of vague. But, like, if I wanted to petition for it, I could combine our assets and pay joint tribute so the clan would pay taxes on our behalf. I guess that's kind of like being married?"

And, well, there's nothing to really to say that.

"Kakashi might wind up saving money that way actually," he ends up commenting.

Looking morbidly curious, Obito peers up at him. "Really?"

Minato nods, absolutely refusing to examine any of this. "He has quite the assets built up being the last Hatake. His father also left him something of a fortune, and Kakashi has plenty of his own funds from making money since he was five. If you combined assets and then had him be included in the overall Uchiha tax bracket, he'd keep more of what he has earned."

There's a deeply contemplative look on Obito's face, a wicked sort of gleam in his eye that Minato wilfully ignores. "Huh," he mutters under his breath. "That's interesting."

Minato is happy for his students. Really. He doesn't know how to feel about them getting married before him, but he wishes them well.

"Oh!" Obito blinks, straightening. "That isn't the point though! We were talking about Itachi-kun stealing Raijin-san from me."

This has got to be some sort of hallucination. Minato physically doesn't feel tethered to his own reality right now. Emptily, he stares at his student.

"Well, Obito-kun," he begins reasonably, "we don't even know if Itachi-kun will end up as Raijin's student in the first place. But even if he does, I'm sure Raijin wouldn't just neglect you. He isn't the sort of person who'd just forget the people he cares about."

Obito droops. "But how do you know?"

Minato purses his lips. "Surely you don't think so little of Raijin, Obito-kun," he says gently.

"Yeah." Sighing, Obito plucks at the grass idly. "I know. I just…worry, I guess."

Humming, Minato turns to stare up at the sky, tracking the clouds that drift lazily overhead. "Well, maybe you should talk to Raijin about it."

"What?!" Obito shrieks. "No way! He's going to think I'm insane!"

Dryly, Minato points out, "You are actively conspiring to reverse adopt my brother. That's not exactly the most mentally stable thing to do, Obito-kun."

Obito gapes at him. "That was mean, Minato-sensei."

Minato snorts, raising a hand to ruffle Obito's hair roughly. "Just go tell Raijin how you feel, Obito. That's the best way to maintain relationships, you know—talking things out that worry you. Raijin will listen."

Sighing, Obito concedes. "If you say so." Then, he brightens. "Hey, sensei, you wanna hear my twelve step plan to reverse adopting Raijin-san? Rin helped me come up with it!"

Raijin stalks back from a month long posting at the barracks bordering the Land of Lightning, feeling far older than all his years and with the exhaustion of too many wars weighing down upon his shoulders.

It hadn't been a complicated mission. The assignment had been for him and his mission partner to carry supplies to one of their more risky outposts, carry out basic patrol and recon of the tenuous border, and then make their way back to the village with the lists detailing inventory of the barrack and further requests for the next pair who'd go to relieve them of outpost duty for a bit.

Things had gone fine for most of it too. Nothing had been unexpected, the skirmishes hadn't been challenging to Raijin in the least, there hadn't been any casualties, and he and his partner had been on their way back before they knew it.

And then they'd been ambushed.

Which hadn't immediately raised any flags in Raijin's mind. The Yamanaka jounin he'd been running the mission with was plenty capable and they'd split the attackers evenly between them; two to each. Raijin had dealt with his two quickly and then immediately given chase to one of the kunoichi when she tried to make a break for it, leaving the Yamanaka to deal with the last attacker, assuming he'd be fine on his own.

Raijin has never been one to micromanage the people he works with. It's good to trust in his allies and let them work as they please rather than minimise their efficiency by breathing down their neck or trying to force them to work his way.

He knows he's more powerful than most others who share his rank; abnormally so. Nothing about him is regular by any standards and he's a little skewed that way, but he can recognise that it doesn't make his allies weak just because they aren't on the same level as him.

So, he'd had faith his comrade would be able to handle himself while he dealt with the runaway kunoichi.

Except that when Raijin had returned to their campsite after incapacitating their attacker, it had been to find the Yamanaka crumpled on the ground with the assailant nowhere in sight. Going after the last attacker hadn't even been in question. Raijin had performed a cursory examination of his teammate to confirm that the Yamanaka had in fact been poisoned before promptly hauling ass to Konoha at breakneck speed.

He didn't know enough about poisons to confirm whether it was fast-acting or lethal or how he might try to combat it. Theoretically, he could try to funnel Kurama's chakra through the Yamanaka and try to burn the poison out of his veins that way, but the Kyuubi's chakra is a potent thing, and it could just as easily cause permanent damage to the other man's chakra coils because of acute rejection. Compatibility is a major issue with the chakra beasts after all. Most adult human bodies simply can't handle it.

The best he could do was to get them home as quickly as physically possible so his teammate could get much needed medical attention.

He only barely manages to not pass out after dropping the Yamanaka off at the hospital, the adrenaline finally leaving his system to leave bone deep weariness in its wake. His legs burn from the strain of pushing himself to complete a two days' journey in a quarter of the time without allowing for any rest in between. Even with his crazy stamina, Raijin is running on fumes and in need of at least fifty straight hours of sleep. A voice in the back of his head that sounds suspiciously like Sakura points out that that's basically a coma at that point.

Well, whatever. So be it. Raijin deserves a minor coma. As a treat.

Now if only the creepy ROOT ninja would just leave him alone. Their weird voidness registers unnaturally to Raijin's senses, grating on his frayed nerves and setting his teeth on edge. He gets that the Hokage set the ANBU back on his ass but at least he can still feel their emotions. ROOT ninja just feel…wrong.

They've been on his tail since the moment he set foot in the village, and that doesn't bode well at all for Raijin. If ROOT is on him, that means Danzou has set his sights on Raijin, and he wants nothing to do with that creep at least until the war has ended.

There's no real way for Raijin to do anything about ROOT without Minato's help or with ANBU tailing his every move as they are right now. He could go hunt the base down and wreak havoc there himself but even Raijin can't get that cocky and put himself up against that many opponents, especially considering that he'd like to rehabilitate as many ROOT operatives as possible. He's pretty sure Captain Yamato is still down there. Raijin can't risk hurting one of his precious people.

His other option would be to kill Danzou himself but, admittedly, assassinations aren't Raijin's strong suit. He's too suited for heavy hitting, and he doesn't have enough experience with planning such high stakes infiltration to be confident about his ability to get away without leaving a clue. And if he leaves anything to identify himself as the killer of a respected village elder, Raijin would jeopardise his entire cover story and land himself in T&I for the rest of his life.

It might be selfish but he doesn't want to risk the life he has built for himself in this time period. Even in the midst of the third shinobi war, this is the most peace Raijin has had in years. He has friends again. He has a brother. He doesn't want to do anything that might cause him to lose that.

So, yeah, the Danzou thing is kind of a pain in his ass right now.

If Sasuke were in his place, he would have stuck the old coot through with a Chidori first thing and then just dipped, village be damned. Sakura would have straight up dropped a mountain on the warmonger and called it a day. Raijin sighs and shakes his head. He misses his team like a phantom limb.

And then, because Danzou is apparently some sort of bloodhound that can sniff out weakness, as soon as Raijin is turning into the alleyway he uses as a shortcut to get to his building, the elder is there waiting for him.

Raijin pauses and stares, debating just spinning on his heel and walking away because surely the gods can't hate him this blatantly. But no, turns out they can. Raijin has been the universe's favourite punching bag literally since the day he was born. Why would things let up now?

Danzou smiles at him, completely unaware of Raijin considering the logistics of committing his murder right in this dingy alleyway. It'd only take a rasengan or two, right?

"Raijin-kun, yes?" the elder says, sounding kind with a practiced ease. Maybe he rehearses it in front of a mirror before going to bed each night.

Does Danzou even sleep? He probably just feeds off the nightmares of children to keep going.

Raijin stares at him. "Uh," he says eloquently. He can't outright lie, can he? It's probably too late for him to start faking amnesia.

"Do you know who I am, Raijin-kun?"

Straightening, Raijin eyes him. "Councilman Shimura," he states. "Did you need something from me, sir?"

Danzou looks pleased that Raijin already knows of him. "I have heard a great deal about you, boy," he says, drawing closer. Raijin keeps himself very carefully still, tracking the man's approach with sharp eyes. "All around, people have nothing but praise for you, and it is well deserved indeed. To defeat the likes of Uchiha Madara is no small feat, Raijin-kun. You have done this village a great service."

Taking a small step back, Raijin bobs his head in acknowledgment and doesn't bother forcing a smile. "Thank you."

Gaze sharpening, Danzou's own smile disappears in favour of an uncomfortable intensity. "I will be frank, Raijin-kun," he says. "I see great potential in you, boy. You are already an excellent shinobi and you will undoubtedly continue doing Konoha proud, but I believe that with the correct guidance, you could reach even further heights. I am here because I think I could provide you with that guidance."

Raijin says nothing, cocking his head and keeping his gaze fixed on the man before him.

"A village is only as strong as the shadows that protect it, Raijin-kun," Danzou says solemnly, lifting his hand and curling his fingers. "It is my duty to look after Konoha from these shadows, and I am offering you a place among the ranks of those who help me carry out this duty. I believe that, in doing so, you could come to fully realise your potential as a shinobi. You would prove that you truly are a loyal soldier of Konoha." The man pause deliberately. "I'm sure it would make your brother proud, child."

Wow. Raijin blinks and tries not to gape too openly. The audacity of this man to come here and accost Raijin like some sort of perv, and then proceed to spout the most outrageously deranged bullshit he has ever had the displeasure of listening to. And Raijin has seen and heard some seriously crazy shit in his life. To imply that Raijin still had to prove his worth to Minato—as if his older brother wouldn't drop everything to fistfight Senju Hashirama himself if Raijin so much as breathed a word about wanting to see the spectacle for his own personal amusement.

Seriously, Danzou needs to do more research next time he tries to recruit Raijin to his little underground cult. This is just lazy. Hidan had done a better job advertising the cult of Jashin even while actively trying to kill Raijin and his friends. Where is the effort?

Raijin does briefly consider saying yes to try and see if dismantling ROOT from the inside would work, but he dismisses the notion almost immediately. He isn't built for the whole turning off his emotions thing and his long-term undercover skills are kind of shoddy. He'd probably end up exposing himself as a time travelling jinchuuriki and get locked up in Danzou's evil dungeon of doom faster than he could blink.

He narrows his eyes and peers at Danzou. "What exactly is it that you would have me do, Danzou-sama? What does it mean to protect the village from the shadows?"

"It is not pretty work, boy," Danzou answers swiftly, looking solemn. "There is no thanks and no glory for what we do for Konohagakure. Nevertheless, it is essential work. The village needs its shadows to protect it from all threats—external and internal. It is our job to make sure nothing comes in the way of the village's prosperity."

More pretty words that don't really answer anything at all. Danzou makes himself out to be some sort of martyr, like he isn't actively using the village as an excuse to further his own interests.

What good is a village that does not care for its own people? Danzou's utopia fundamentally makes no sense at all. As far as Raijin is concerned, his vision of Konoha is just as much of a pipe dream as Madara's Infinite Tsukuyomi had been.

Pursing his lips, Raijin only barely refrains from outright refusing. If he knows anything about Danzou's way of operating, his refusal here will not be considered final at all. Instead, the old bastard will take it as a challenge and start driving Raijin to a place where accepting Danzou's proposal will be his best option. Sabotaging missions, threatening, psychological warfare—Danzou wouldn't be above any of that.

And Raijin needs space to prepare himself for Danzou breathing down his neck for the foreseeable future.

Sage, what a fucking creep.

"I—" He pauses, more for effect than anything else. He has an image to uphold as a member of team 7 after all. "I have had a difficult mission, Danzou-sama. I will consider your offer once I have rested, with a clear head. Will that be all?"

Danzou watches him, appraisal in his gaze for a long moment. Finally, the man smiles and nods. "Of course. I will wait for your response. Goodnight, Raijin-kun."

With that, he finally takes his leave, strolling past Raijin and exiting the alleyway before triggering a shunshin and leaving the blond alone in the dark.

Left alone at last, Raijin finally allows his shoulders to slump and sighs, the sound coming from a place of exhaustion deep in his soul. He wants to turn around and go harass the Sandaime into arresting Danzou right now, but there's no real proof of any wrongdoings at the moment.

After all, this is a point in time that precedes ROOT's official disbandment. That had only happened after the Uchiha massacre. Right now, Danzou has full leave to do as he damn well pleases.

Huffing, Raijin spins on his heel and goes home. He'll figure it out eventually.

Raijin has been acting odd, Minato concludes, watching his younger brother stare blankly at the seal Minato had asked him to take a look at. Since he returned from his outpost mission, Raijin has been shifty and lost in thought, easily startled and uncharacteristically quiet. He hasn't been sleeping well either if the growing bags under his eyes are any indicator.

Minato has left him alone about it for the past week, knowing that he can sometimes get carried away with 'mother henning' as Kushina calls it. Raijin is an adult, perfectly capable of dealing with his own problems, and it should be up to him whether or not he wants to share those with Minato.

Still, Minato worries.

He is never quite sure where the line is between suffocating concern and seeming disinterested. It is Minato's tendency to love and give too much—he gets too involved and takes on problems that aren't his to solve, and when he tries to actively not do that, it seems like he goes too far in the opposite direction and ends up alienating his loved ones when they need him instead.

It's all just so…complicated, and Minato isn't the best at it, but he's trying so hard not to screw up with Raijin. Things have gone really well so far. He knows logically that even if he and Raijin end up arguing every once in a while, it wouldn't be the end of the world. That's just how relationships are sometimes, and he'd preached to Obito only last week about communication and talking things out.

Nonetheless, he just wants for things to be easy between him and his brother. Is that so bad?

Biting his lip, Minato considers his options and deliberates between saying nothing and bringing up his concern to Raijin.

In the end, his brother makes the choice for him.

"You're totally staring," Raijin tells him, looking amused. "Is there something on my face?"

And Minato, who has been building with the urge to say something, ends up blurting out, "You look tired and you aren't sleeping and I'm worried about you."

Raijin blinks. "Oh," he says.

Minato eyes him. He doesn't look upset. If anything, Raijin's face softens entirely and he ducks his head in that shy way he does when he's secretly pleased but is embarrassed about it. Minato breathes a sigh of relief. Okay. He hasn't screwed up. Good.

"Is everything okay, Raijin?" he asks tentatively.

Rubbing at the back of his neck, Raijin looks back at him contemplatively, chewing on his lip in thought. "I'm not sure," he admits finally, honestly. "Will you listen?"

"Of course," Minato claims readily.

Raijin smiles at him, taking a moment to flair his chakra in the specific way that Minato recognises works to activate the extensive privacy seals Raijin has inked around his home.

"Last week, Councilman Shimura approached me about joining some faction of the forces that protects the village from the shadows or something," Raijin says, taking a deep breath and linking his fingers together tightly. "I did some digging and found out it's called ROOT and it's like a subdivision of ANBU under Danzou's personal command."

Minato purses his lips. "I know of it," he says carefully.

Nothing about ROOT is outwardly illegitimate at all. Still, something about it doesn't seem to sit right with anyone who isn't part of it. The people who join ROOT never leave it, and they never act quite the same ever again.

He tries to imagine Raijin acting like he has seen some of the other ROOT members act—quiet, ghostlike, obedient to a fault. Minato tries not to shudder, forcing himself past the sinking feeling in his stomach. "Raijin, did you…?"

"No," Raijin says, shaking his head, oblivious to the wave of relief that hits Minato with all the force of a tsunami. "No, I told him I'd think about it, but honestly, something about the whole thing just doesn't sit right with me."

Assured that Raijin hasn't signed his soul away to Danzou, Minato now focuses solely on his brother's concern. "What happened?"

Raijin bites the inside of his cheek. "It's the way he approached me," he says. "Right after I got back from a mission that my teammate got poisoned on. I hadn't slept in days and I thought my comrade might die. I was all alone, trying to go home, tired and upset. He told me I could prove that I really was loyal to the village." Raijin frowns at Minato. "That I would make you proud."

Minato's mind goes blank. The overwhelming implication that Danzou really tried to go after the only relative of a well known Hokage candidate is the only thing ringing in his head. To attempt such a blatant transgression against Minato, using his name to try to manipulate his little brother.

And it could have worked. Raijin is new to the village, and new to Minato. It would make sense for him to be unsure and wanting to do everything to prove his trustworthiness. The thought makes Minato's blood run cold.

"I couldn't place it at the time," Raijin continues, unaware of his building sense of horror, "but I've seen shit like that before. That's how they lure people in the red light districts, you know. Get vulnerable people and offer to turn their life around. I've seen kids get into all sorts of trouble with drugs and crime and prostitution like that." He purses his lips. "I know that Councilman Shimura is a respected elder of the village and all, I just couldn't help but—"

"You're absolutely right, Raijin," Minato interrupts, voice deadly calm. Raijin's jaw clicks shut and he blinks at Minato. "Danzou-sama is an elder, yes, but he's an old man who doesn't know when to step down and let go of the power that has gone right to his head. ROOT may do important work for the village, but it is also a thin veneer for Danzou's private army and serves as a consolidation of his power against the Hokage himself. You have nothing to prove to this village or to me. You are a skilled shinobi; a credit to any leader you choose to follow, and Konoha is lucky to have you. Do you understand?"

Raijin's eyes are wide as he nods wordlessly.

Minato nods back. "Good." His eyes narrow. "I can't believe he's stooped to the point of trying to use me to manipulate you. Danzou must be going fucking senile."

Whistling, Raijin leans back. "I don't think I've ever heard you swear before, nii-chan."

Fingers curling into fists, Minato clenches his jaw. "I haven't been this angry in a while," he admits. "He really tried to imply that I needed you to die for this village for me to be proud of you."

Raijin blinks, straightening and regarding Minato carefully. "I already know that's not true, nii-chan. It's okay."

"It's not," Minato insists, glaring down at his hands. "You—what if he'd succeeded, Raijin? What if you'd been a little less wary or a little less trusting of me? I could have lost you to one man's ambitions and never known. People who go into ROOT never leave it. They just die. What if—?"

"Woah," Raijin cuts him off, standing up to cross over to Minato's side and drop into the space beside him. "Hey, come on, it's fine. I get it. ROOT is fucked up. I'm not joining them. It's okay."

"I know," Minato sighs, closing his eyes and letting his head fall against Raijin's shoulder. "I know," he repeats. "I just—I keep thinking about it."

"Well, stop thinking about it," Raijin says simply, nudging him gently. "I saw right through the guy's bullshit and I'm still around to pester you."

Minato snorts. "I'm just upset," he says. "You know I don't need you to prove yourself to me or anything, right? I'm proud of you everyday, no matter what, Raijin."

"I know," Raijin acknowledges easily. "I didn't even stop to doubt that. You're my brother, Minato."

"I'm glad."

Sighing, Raijin rests his head against Minato's. "Hey, why does ROOT even exist? Don't they just do the same stuff as ANBU?"

Minato hums. "Essentially, yeah, just with even less legal accountability because they only answer to Danzou and the Hokage."

"They only came around when the Sandaime took the hat, right?"

"Yeah," Minato confirms, lifting his head so he can look at Raijin and assess the thoughtful gleam in his eyes.

Raijin frowns at him. "Well," he starts, hesitating, "that kind of implies that they aren't all that necessary, right?"

Eyes narrowing, Minato asks, "Where are you going with this?"

"They say that you're probably going to be the Yondaime Hokage," Raijin brings up. "Will you keep ROOT around?"

And that—well, Minato hasn't really thought about that. He blinks and leans back in consideration.

He pauses. "Definitely not as it is," he decides firmly. "I can see why ROOT exists, but I wouldn't allow it to remain so completely under one man's command. Especially a man I don't trust to respect me as his commander. I'd much rather let it collapse back into ANBU as a proper subdepartment."

Raijin hums, his shoulders relaxing ever so slightly. He perks up and leans closer to whisper conspiratorially, "Hey, don't you think Danzou's kind of a perv?"

That startles a laugh out of Minato. "Never change, Raijin."

"Well, duh, you were literally going to cry just thinking about it."

"Was not."

"Were too. You can't lie to me, nii-chan."

"…Don't tell Kushina."

Raijin snorts. "She already calls you a sissy. I don't see how this is going to make it worse."

Minato pouts. "I really was worried, you know."

"Because you're a worrywart." Raijin rolls his eyes.

"You should be nicer to your nii-chan, Raijin."

"No way! Bullying you is basically in my job description as your little brother."

"I want a refund."

"Too late. No takebacks allowed. You're stuck with me now, nii-chan."

Notes:

Minato might seem emotionally intelligent but he's a genius shinobi so I feel like he's never quite sure about that side of things but he does his best. The man did put Kakashi in ANBU thinking it was a good idea and I kind of understand the initial logic, but come on, that's just asking for bad news. He wants to be good so badly but you can't 100% of the time when it comes to relationships and I think Minato struggles with that, especially because he didn't have an actual family growing up and he was so much smarter than his peers that I imagine he found it hard to connect with them.

Danzou has also finally entered the narrative. I wanted to clarify on why I haven't dealt with him yet, and primarily, it's because Danzo currently outranks both Raijin and Minato, so they need to play a bit of a waiting game until they can start to systematically dismantle the man's influence so the village isn't harmed by the fallout while trying to recover from so many wars in such close succession.