80 Pieces in Place

In the category of News that No-one is Surprised By, Gato is a scumbag.

I'm currently standing in his office, going through all of the notes that he kept locked in his desk. Gato himself was sitting at his desk in a catatonic state, the knock-out seal written across his forehead. I haven't used that seal since The Organ Trail.

Fun little bits of nostalgia aside, Gato was involved in the black market. Now, obviously I know that when a certain good is banned, there are people who will do anything to get that good. Alcohol, drugs, sex, all that stuff. Basically, trying to put bans on a good or service just makes those who thrive off of illegal commodities start stocking up on their supply.

Ban Alcohol, you get mobsters providing the supply. Ban drugs, cartels fulfill the same thing. Ban…wait, how do you ban sex?

Barter Check Success: 100/70.

You know what? I'm not even going to go there.

Anyway, lets get back on topic. Gato was involved in all of these things, especially human trafficking. He even had photos. On the back was marked the name of the girl or boy, their age and limited physical descriptors such as height, weight, hair and eye color.

The back says she's twelve and…wait.

That's weird, she looks like she's nine.

Which makes it even worse. I mean, it's not a mis-numbering, there's a girl in this drawer whose stated age is six. Makes me sick, but it does raise some questions that I'll have to answer later.

But the main thing I'm looking for is names at this point. Places where they keep victims. Who's involved? Once I get all of that, I'm going into the Land of Water like a scalpel. Cut out the rot, get the victims back to their families where possible, all that jazz.

Only thing I'm curious about now is how to replace Gato, because Gato has a lot of actual, honest employees and would be quite successful with just the honest part of his business. So, it just goes to show that he was in the illegal goods business because it was fun and he profited off of this stuff in ways that weren't money.

I grumbled in irritation. "Gato, you're a sick dog."

He had no way to hearing or responding to me but I meant it; you put down sick dogs so they aren't miserable piles of flesh and bones for their last days and Gato's been spreading his misery.

My best lead was that Gato had a son. His name was Gombei and from what Gato here's written in his notes, he's done everything in his power to keep his son from getting involved in his criminal activities. So far, it seems like he's done a good job; Gombei's a senior executive in the one arm of the company without a lick of corruption in it. It's almost like two different companies. Gombei's well liked by his peers too, it seems and would be fast tracked to take his Father's place.

Hm.

Let me double check something really quick.

Uh…yeah. Definitely successor material. No feasible competitors. At least, there won't be after I'm done cutting out the cancer. We've got thirteen people directly involved with this filth in the office building right now, not counting Gato.

What opposition am I going to be dealing with?

Zabuza and Haku appear to have defaulted on their contract. Speculation that the Mizukage committing seppuku – wait.

The guy I freed from Tobi's Genjutsu committed seppuku?

But it wasn't his fault that Tobi put a Genjutsu on him! I…focus on the now, I can worry about that later. Zabuza and Haku defaulted on their contract to focus on taking advantage of the opening created by Karatachi Yagura's passing. Which means that the Gato Company has no shinobi backup in the immediate area. I've got free reign.

…I mean, I had free reign anyway but that's not the point.

The point is that it's time to go to work.

I drew my pistol and planted a shot right between Gato's closed eyes.

Global Repositioning System.

Another office, appearing behind the man in question; responsible for the acquisition of two siblings, aged twelve and fourteen and selling them to some guy in the Land of Earth. His head splattered all over the desk. Next office, next target.

I didn't want to be an angel of justice here. I believe that no man should be destroyed except by the lawful judgement of his peers. But that is impossible in this situation. To many people bought, not enough people who can execute lawful judgement. So, because it is impossible, the responsibility falls to me.

At the very least, my preference for 'Innocent until Proven Guilty' has been sated since I knew these men and women were monsters without a doubt.

Thirteen targets down.

Those guys couldn't have fought me. They were civilians with social clout and money. Their guilt had been proven, and that was that. This was not a battle for either pleasure or glory. This was a summary execution. They had been judged and found wanting.

…spoken like a true god.

"My, my."

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up on end as I whirled to the left and came face to face with Jashin. The God of Evil was shaking his head with an amused smirk. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're certainly taking a direct hand in things, aren't you?"

"Jashin-dono," I'm going to be polite, at the very least. "What are you doing here?"

"Why, I'm watching a force for good destroy one of the cancerous little growths I've been feeding," Jashin explained with a gesture to the corpse that I left on the desk. "I mean, I suppose you could've used Ninshū to inspire and empower mortals to take some responsibility for their situation, but…baby steps."

"The systems in place weren't good enough to handle it properly," I pointed out with a glare.

"Quite right, child," Jashin said smugly. "But then, isn't it your job to guide them to becoming sufficient?"

You know, it's kind of easy to laugh at the word child now. Not that it's a funny word, but the way I used to lose my cool at it is actually pretty funny. Like, in a condescending 'you idiot' sort of way.

"Baby steps," I parroted back to him with a smirk.

Jashin's head turned and his smile turned to a frown. "Well, that is surprising. You did it, didn't you?"

"Did what?" I asked.

"Oh, don't be coy." Jashin looked decidedly unimpressed. "You've finally let go of the past. Finally accepted where you are? Who you are? I'm most impressed, Shimoda-dono. Well done."

I blinked and it took me a moment to realize that the god of evil was Affably Evil. That's kind of cool in its own way. I thought he was faking it all in the Vault…though he might still be. "Thank you, Jashin-dono."

"No, no. Thank you." Jashin waved it off. "Believe me, I was a little worried that I was going to be back to not having any enemies and I can't have that. Enemies are my lifeblood."

"Okay." Why am I confused right now? Is he Ninshū-ing me right now?

"Still, though, you should probably get going," Jashin began.

"Why do you say that?"

We both turned as the door to the office opened and there was a pretty young secretary standing there, her skin having turned pale. With an extended index finger, Jashin mimed shooting her and her brains exploded out the back of her head. Her corpse fell to the ground.

"Before someone finds her and blames you." Jashin waved goodbye with a smile as he disappeared. "Ta."

Crap!

Resurrection Technique: A Simple Choice.

I zipped over to her and started the resurrection process.

Come on, I didn't mean to get you killed.

I got a ping back.

The answer was no.

Oh, come on! I raged internally, only barely stopping myself from putting a hole through the door. Still, I heard a pair of footsteps coming down the hall and they'd see this. Jashin did that on purpose.

Global Repositioning System.

I was at the next office building in the Land of Water. A deep breath helped me relax just a bit.

…you know, I'm starting to think that maybe taking care of business personally might just be an invitation for other gods to come and screw things up, which would explain any of the others, if there are others besides Shinigami and Jashin, not poking around mortal affairs.

Go stealth mode, get to work. If nothing else, I need to test the theory.

Tobi was not having a good day.

Many years ago, he remembered, he had come to a simple realization; that he was in hell.

That day still haunted his nightmares. Blood dripping from the branches around him like rain, forming into a pool at his feet. Floating there in the center of the pool was his love. The girl who made his life worth living, the beam of sunlight through the clouds of his wretched existence, the immaculate Rin.

Dead by the hand of the one who swore to protect her.

Dead by the hand of Hatake Kakashi.

It still woke him sometimes, even though he knew he was in some kind of dream world. That he could go from one dream to another without ever truly waking up was one of life's crueler realities, one he wished he could escape with a burning vengeance that got brighter with every failure.

Until today.

The image came as a shock to him, seeing it out of his left eye, somehow.

Rin.

Rin was alive.

Happy, healthy, standing in front of the Hokage's desk with a smile and a wave.

He stopped being able to breathe and the image left him.

Tobi, or rather, Uchiha Obito, was nearly struck senseless.

But he knew it. He knew it with every fiber of his being, even though he saw the body with his own eyes, even though he killed the monsters who took her from him, even though he failed to save her…she was alive.

She was alive, she was breathing…she was Rin.

But how?

It! Makes! No! Sense!

He had given up everything to see her again! He had gone along with Madara's insane plan to see her again! He had killed his Sensei and his wife to see her again! The moon-eye plan was to restore Tobi to the real world! The world where Rin was alive!

That world was this world.

Except no it wasn't.

It had to be a trick!

"She's dead," Obito growled to himself. She has to be dead. Kakashi…Kakashi must've figured something out. A Genjutsu fooled my other eye. No, it was a henge. That had to be it. But…what if it wasn't?

Obito's blood ran cold. The Zetsu that made up his left side started to shudder uncomfortably. I have to investigate. Head to Konoha immediately. Find Kakashi, find out what happened. Then kill him for doing that to me.

"Are you having some trouble?"

Obito turned and came face to face with Zetsu, black half and white half fused together. The one who asked the question was Black Zetsu, obviously.

"Yeah, you look like one of those flip-book drawings," White Zetsu chuckled heartily.

Rin's alive. Kakashi got hit by a trick. Obito wanted to say both of these things, but he didn't know which one. "I'm fine."

"You've been warping all over the base in a panic for an hour," Black Zetsu pointed out blandly.

"I said I'm fine," Obito glared at him. "I just need to go to Konoha to check on something."

"Ooh, going back home?" White Zetsu asked happily. "Can I come?"

"What are you checking on?" Black Zetsu asked, his eye narrowing.

Obito took a deep breath. "It's nothing."

"Why are you checking on nothing?" White Zetsu asked, sounding confused.

Obito started gritting his teeth in anger. "Because! I saw something from my other eye."

"Ooh! Was he playing eye-spy?" White Zetsu got a much larger smile on his face than normal. "I bet he was playing eye-spy."

"This isn't funny," Black Zetsu chided his other half. "What did you see?"

"I thought it was a good one," White Zetsu argued back.

Obito responded quietly. "I saw Rin."

"Hallucination!" White Zetsu fake coughed.

Black Zetsu quiet.

"In the Hokage's office?" Obito snapped angrily.

"Seems like a great spot for mind altering drugs," White Zetsu teased.

"Shut up, this is serious!" Obito shouted. "I don't know how, I don't know why, but Kakashi saw Rin and I'm going to find out how."

"It wouldn't do to charge in recklessly," Black Zetsu cautioned.

"I was going to scout the village and try to find Kakashi," Obito replied with a scoff. "Interrogate him and then finally eliminate him."

"Ooh! Then we can finally get your old eye back," White Zetsu suggested like it was the smartest idea he'd ever had.

"The idea has merit, but we need to be cautious. Make plans," Black Zetsu again encouraged caution. "Hatake Kakashi is not someone you can simply walk into the Hidden Leaf Village, interrogate and then assassinate. Even you would have a great deal of trouble dealing with him."

"The only thing that would make it impossible is if his wayward brat were to get in the way," Obito snarled.

Both Zetsu's were silent.

"He left the village, so it would be possible," Obito pointed out. "They're all still reeling from it too, trying to prepare for the worst if he might attack. That's what Itachi told me when he heard from his spies."

"Are you referring to the Triple S-ranked Missing Nin that was placed in the newest edition in the bingo-book?" Black Zetsu asked. "Shimoda Daisuke?"

"Yes," Obito hissed with venom.

"Isn't he the guy that threw you around like a rag-doll and actually killed you?" White Zetsu asked, starting to chuckle. "Man, good thing for Tobi or you'd be –"

"I know!" Obito barked. "I know. But that's why it's even possible. The brat's gone."

"Oh, that's true," White Zetsu said with a grin.

"That doesn't remove the necessity of a plan," Black Zetsu stated. "Now, let's go speak to Nagato and inform him of our decision."

"And we'll justify it by saying we should just lock down the fox now?" Obito asked with an analytical look.

"Precisely. We know where he is," Black Zetsu affirmed. "Why not just get the brat now instead of later when he could be moved between beasts one through nine?"

"Are you ready, sweetie?" Kushina asked, kneeling down and dusting off Naruto's tracksuit.

"Yeah, I guess," Naruto said, taking a breath and peering around the curtains where the Hokage had everyone gathered. There he could see the entire village like an ocean of people, talking with each other, trying to find out what that was all about. "I'm just nervous about…you know, after."

"You don't have to come live with us if you don't want too," Kushina said kindly. "It's okay, you're your own person. We understand."

Naruto let a small smile grow on his face. "Thanks Mom."

They embraced and Minato came around the corner, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "This is going to be quite the event. You excited?"

"Actually, yes. Yes, I am," Naruto said with a grin. "I can't wait to see you chew the whole village out!"

"Oh," Minato said. "Naruto, I'm afraid that wouldn't solve anything."

"You're not going to do it?" Naruto looked absolutely crestfallen.

"No, I think they're going to do it to themselves," Minato said with a smile. "All I have to tell them is that you're our son and then they'll bend over backwards to make amends. Though I will say that there is one person who, if he had done his job properly, would have been able to stop all of the neglect you endured."

"And we are really upset with him," Kushina's smile was tight as she forcefully finished brushing Naruto's sleeves off.

"Wait, who is he?" Naruto asked curious look.

Behind them, on the other side of the stage stood Rin and Kakashi. Rin looked as nervous as Naruto felt and Kakashi was keeping a very, very stern eye on his erotica, which Naruto recognized as a way of coping with nerves. He made eye contact with Rin, and she gave him a thumbs up with a kind smile. Naruto returned the gesture and hoped that it looked sincere.

"People of Konohagakure!" The Third Hokage called with a jutsu to magnify his voice. "I, the Third Hokage have an important announcement to make!"

Naruto felt himself standing just a bit straighter.

"We have all heard of the village miracle worker. The Second Professor, the Genin who wanted more missions on record than any other," Hiruzen started with a smile. "Shimoda Daisuke! Well, he has, yet again, accomplished another miracle. Done something no one thought was possible…again. This time, he has learned to raise the dead!"

The crowd erupted into scattered pockets of cheers and whispers.

"He recently brought back three Shinobi that you may hold dear. Their identities have been confirmed by Morino Ibiki and Yamanaka Inoichi. They are who they say they are. Allow me to present…" Hiruzen held the moment a bit in anticipation.

"Here I go," Minato said.

"Knock them dead," Kushina encouraged, standing up to give him a peck on the lips before he walked out onto the stage.

"Minato Namikaze, the Fourth!" Hiruzen announced happily.

The entire village erupted into celebration at once. Naruto almost thought that he was going to go deaf from the sheer volume of the cheers of happiness and joy that accompanied his father's return to Konoha.

"I give the stage to Minato-dono for the remaining announcements," Hiruzen said with a giant grin.

"Thank you, Hiruzen-dono," Minato's booming voice took to the stage. "It's good to see the village standing and that you all look well."

Cheers again.

"And, it is good to be back," Minato said once the cheers died down. "It truly is, and as Hiruzen-dono pointed out, we have Shimoda Daisuke to thank for it. So as for the remaining announcements, first I have a confession to make."

Minato took a deep breath for exaggerated effect. "Ladies, I'm married."

Cheers…and moans of sadness. Naruto's head tilted in confusion. His Dad was a lady's man.

"And Shimoda Daisuke did me the favor of bringing back my wife, who died alongside me that night when the Kyuubi attacked," Minato said with a sad smile. "Allow me to announce the return of Uzumaki Kushina."

Kushina immediately stepped out into the light, going to stand beside her husband.

There were cheers, but there were also mutterings of confusion and from some of the faces that Naruto could make out, horror.

"And of course, there's the matter of the last person who was brought back. One of my Genin Students," Minato said, almost sounding smug. "Everyone, please welcome Nohara Rin back to Konoha."

The cheers were actually louder for Rin than they were for Kushina, which boggled Naruto's mind. Not as loud as for his father, but they were loud.

"Thanks to the village Miracle Worker, we've all returned and we plan on making up for lost time," Minato announced with a grin. "Now, last person I need to introduce. On the night of the attack, my wife gave birth to my son who is with us today. You all know him, I'm sure you all love him, please give an applause for Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto stepped out into the light, walking toward the beckoning and encouraging arms of his parents.

There were cheers. Not as deafening as Minato's entry or even Rin's, but…cheers. Actual, honest to goodness cheers. Real cheers. The crowd was cheering for him. Looking out, he could see familiar faces. Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, Chouji. The Ichiraku's. All cheering. He could see the Hyuuga, sitting together as a single unit offering polite applause.

Naruto was grateful for that. Hinata was a great friend.

"Thanks for the Village Miracle worker, we're a family again," Minato called out. "And, effective immediately…"

Hiruzen took off the triangle hat and tossed it to Minato, who caught it effortlessly and donned it. "I am resuming my duties as Fourth Hokage."

The cheers got deafening again.

"And for my first act as Hokage, I hereby issue a pardon to Shimoda Daisuke for all crimes committed against the village," Minato continued with a smile. "If you see him or have some way of contacting him, let him know that he is welcome here, even if he has no desire to take on missions."

A weight on Naruto's chest lifted and with it, came a lightness that seemed to let him breathe easier.

"And I will declare today a holiday for those of you that wish to celebrate," Minato declared. "Resurrection Day. Preparations for the festival have already been made, it begins tonight at Nine. Thank you, everyone and I look forward to helping Konoha gain a brighter future."

The cheers were loud again and everyone walked off the stage.

"That went better than expected," Minato said when they were behind the stage again.

"I'm happy that they clapped for Naruto," Hiruzen said with a smile. "I was fearing that they would boo him."

"That would have made me chastise the village," Minato's glare was unamused. "Viciously."

"Chastise is putting it lightly," Kushina was gritting her teeth and Naruto was starting to see that, yes, they did actually care about what happened to him though he was struggling to believe that.

"Naruto," Minato turned to his son. "Now that we're out of the safe house, would you like to show us your apartment?"

"Yeah," Naruto replied brightly. "Come on…wait, where's Rin going to stay?"

"Good question," Minato said, turning to Kakashi and Rin, who were talking quietly. "Rin? Do you know where you're staying tonight?"

"I think I'm going to be staying with Kakashi-san until we get an apartment lined up," Rin replied with a small smile.

"Separate bedrooms?" Minato asked with the quirk of his mouth.

Kakashi suddenly looked like he swallowed a bug, and started coughing.

"Sensei!" Rin shouted, looking thoroughly scandalized. "He's just helping me!"

Kushina looked very concerned. "Rin, what about your parents?"

Rin got a morose expression. "Kyuubi attack."

"I'm sorry," Naruto quickly spoke.

"What? No, no, no," Rin also put her hands up to wave off the faux pas. "I know it's not your fault, promise. It just happened, that's all."

"Thanks," Naruto sighed.

"So, will we see you at the festival tonight?" Kushina asked with a smile.

"You know it!" Rin said with a cute smile.

"I'll be there too," Kakashi added with a nod.

"I look forward to seeing you both there," Minato nodded.

Gombei, the son of Gato, was a lot of things.

He was patient, hard working and had no tolerance for corruption anywhere. But he was also aware of the proclivities of his father, a man whom Gombei had no respect for, or any semblance of fondness.

It was odd, then, to have heard of his passing and have feelings of loss.

He was leaning back in his chair, his perfectly groomed black hair shining as sharply as his shoes. The sharply tapered black suit the product of thousands of ryo's worth of tailoring. His square glasses shined in the light of his office, hiding his glare as he stared a hole into the wall.

The moment his father passed; he had gotten a call. Phones were a symbol of wealth and power, so of course he had one. His father had been found in his office dead in his chair, his cranial matter having been violently strewn about on his expensive wood desk. The company was hard at work trying to find out who it could have been that assassinated his father and the thirteen executives who worked in his office building.

The door opened ahead of him.

"Gombei-sama, I received some news," Masae was Gombei's secretary, and she walked in wearing a business suit. In her hand, she was holding a file. "Today, a Shinobi finished constructing a bridge that your father was concerned about. The one to the mainland."

"Alright, who was it?" Gombei asked, looked at her dispassionately.

Was she attractive? Yes. Did he ever let it interfere with his job? No.

"A shinobi named Shimoda Daisuke," Masae replied, placing the file in front of him. "According to the construction workers, he appeared right as they were about to go to work and finished the bridge. They believe it was on a whim."

"Shimoda Daisuke," Gombei echoed, leaning forward. "Is this his file?"

"His entry in the Bingo Book, known jutsu and abilities," Masae replied. "All for your perusal."

Gombei picked up the file and started reading it. "Triple-S class? Makes jutsu up on the fly? Went rogue for reasons unknown. Hm. Very well. Kirigakure isn't taking contracts at the moment, right?"

"No, Gombei-sama," Masae answered.

This Ninja is the one who killed my father, Gombei said, the thought still bothering him but not knowing why. Built the bridge then removed threats to it. Common sense. Someone like this wouldn't be bothered by things like 'security measures'. My only question now is if, or when, he's going to come for me.

He continued reading the file. This Ninja must be quite a headache for the Hidden Leaf and I know my Father was struggling to get trade routes through the mainland to work. Perhaps they might appreciate some clues to apprehend Shimoda.

"Very well," He stood and buttoned his suit. "Make preparations for my travel to Konohagakure. I will hire them to handle this personally."

"So, here's my apartment," Naruto said, pushing open the door as he unlocked it with his keys.

His apartment was a mess, naturally. Orange jackets and black shirts were strewn about on the furniture, empty ramen cups that hadn't been properly thrown away were standing on the table. "It's uh, well…it's a bit of a mess."

"Yes, I can see that," Kushina said with a nod, frowning as she peered around the apartment. "You eat a lot of ramen?"

"Uh huh," Naruto nodded happily. "It's the best food, delicious and easy to make."

"Do you eat anything else?" Kushina asked.

"Yeah." Naruto shrugged and gestured into the kitchen, which was also a mess of cooking utensils of all kinds. "I've been trying to learn how to cook since I started dating Sakura. Our picnic date was pretty good!"

"I admire the effort," Minato said with a smile. "I can't cook to save my life."

"You'd die without my cooking," Kushina teased, her nose scrunching up like a fox's as the two shared a kiss and a laugh.

"Thanks, guys," Naruto said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.

"So, Naruto, can you show me where the bathroom is?" Minato asked with a smile.

"Sure, it's right over here," Naruto said, pointing his father down the small hall to his bedroom, the bathroom being built right off of it.

Kushina's eyes narrowed at all the mess and swiftly got to work. A role of trash bags was sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch and she grabbed one, swiftly opening and inflating it to start chugging garbage into. The empty ramen cups, crushed up napkins, elixir bottles and cans, all went into the bag before Naruto even had a chance to blink.

Naruto returned to the living room and was surprised. "Wow…it's clean. Thanks, Mom!"

"You're welcome, sweetie," Kushina replied sweetly, moving around the apartment with a practiced grace as she tidied up the place. "Now, uh…oh."

She stopped when she came face to face with Naruto's pin-up poster, a woman with long black hair, wearing a black bra and panties and striking a cute pose, a star tattooed onto her cheek.

"Oh, right," Naruto quickly got flustered. "Sorry, Mom, I probably should've taken that down."

"No, no," Kushina closed her eyes and bowed her head, shaking the surprise from her mind. "You're legally an adult, this is something that adults can have. I was just surprised is all."

"Oh," Naruto said.

"Naruto, since it's no longer a secret, can I ask you a question?" Kushina began, turning to face her son. "What happened between Hiruzen-sama and Shimoda-sama?"

"Well," Naruto began, shaking off the awkwardness of her mother calling his brother in all but blood 'sama' when he should be adopted by them. "Daisuke decided he wanted to tell me about my parentage and about my…tenant."

Kushina simply held her tongue and listened.

"He'd been gone for three months by then." Naruto looked off to the side, then up, trying to find the words. "He had a lot of things to work through and it was a long story. But on the day of my graduation, he sent me a message. Telling me that he had some things to tell me and wanted me to come alone."

Kushina tilted her head and raised a single eyebrow. "That's odd. That's such an obvious red-flag for someone trying to set a trap."

"I know." Naruto nodded. "So, I went to the old man about it and he agreed. So, we set up an ambush if it was an enemy but would, hopefully be harmless if it was Daisuke. Then Daisuke's team, my team and Team 10 showed up and it was kind of weird. But then the time for the meeting came and… It was Daisuke."

"Alright," Kushina said, drawing the word out. "Why didn't this ambush stop Shimoda from telling you either of those things?"

"Because Daisuke knew they were there," Naruto replied. "He used a jutsu to paralyze everyone in place so that we could talk in peace."

"What jutsu did he use?" Kushina asked, her eyes going wide.

"I don't know." Naruto looked as lost as his mother. "He just makes jutsu. Out of nowhere. It's his thing."

"Okay then, so he told you," Kushina said, having regained her calm. "Did he prove it to you?"

"Yeah."

"How?"

"He showed me the seal on my stomach," Naruto replied, lifting his shirt and channeling some chakra to make it visible. "I'd never channeled chakra shirtless before, so I didn't see it before. Then he unfroze the Old man and the massive Contingent of ANBU and they had an argument."

"What kind of argument?" Kushina asked.

"Daisuke was mad at the Old Man because he was playing favorites or something, talked about someone who had gotten away years ago because he was the Old Man's student," Naruto sighed. "The Old Man tried to stop him, but Daisuke kicked him around like a ball."

"Kicked the Hokage around like a ball," Kushina repeated, blinking owlishly. "Then what happened?"

"This is where the Old Man screwed up." Naruto sighed, shaking his head. "He said that this entire meeting was a temper tantrum thrown by a child who got too much power too quickly."

Naruto looked his mother dead in the eyes with the most serious expression he could muster. "If you ever meet Daisuke again, never call him a child. Ever. If there is anything, and I mean anything, that could make him want you dead, it's calling him a child. Don't. Ever. Do it."

"O-okay, Naruto," Kushina nodded, trying to be reassuring. "I won't."

"Thank you." Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. "I just got you guys back again I'd hate to have lost you."

"We'll never leave you," Kushina replied kindly, stroking Naruto's cheek. "I promise. It'll never happen again."

"Thanks, Mom," Naruto said. "I just still can't believe the Old Man did that you know? He knew."

"Might've done it on purpose to get him to stop talking," Kushina answered with a shrug. "It's what I would've done if someone was blabbing S-class secrets…hypothetically."

"I don't think it was worth it." Naruto shook his head. "Daisuke crushed them. He made it all dark. I mean, it was blinding. Wasn't a Genjutsu since a Kai didn't dispel it. Then he got to work, started knocking people out left and right. The only people left standing were the other academy graduates."

Kushina looked at her son's downcast expression with a troubled frown of her own.

"Ino snagged him in her mind-swap jutsu and we were going to wake everyone up, but Daisuke overpowered her." Naruto threw his hands up in the air like he was sick of the whole thing. "Had defenses prepared or something. Told Sasuke he was a traitor with a clean conscience and left. I haven't seen him since."

Kushina looked into Naruto's eyes with a reassuring gaze. "We'll find him. Let him know that he's been pardoned so he can come back, even if he doesn't want to do missions…Hiruzen-sama said that Daisuke had wanted to retire before his three-month vacation."

"Thanks Mom," Naruto wiped his eyes and tried to look strong. "We'll get him back. No matter what."