The silver lining

Sarutobi had agreed to give Naruto what he had asked for.

In two days, somebody he trusted would come to deliver the scrolls to him. In the meantime, he should keep a low profile.

Once night had fallen, he sneaked away back to his home in Umi.

Karin was sitting over the water. She noticed his expression.

"…Difficult day?"

He let out a pained noise. "You can say that, yes."

He felt emotionally exhausted.

Naruto told her everything. She just held his hand, nodding when it was appropriate.

"Once I get my father's scrolls, I'm out of this place. It's… It feels too strange, being there." He said, starting at the lake.

She squeezed his hand. "I know."

The sat in silence.

He broke it. "Is Sakura here already…?"

"Not yet, not. Should be a few more days, still." Karin answered. "Why?"

Naruto paused. "Want to come inside?"

She grinned. "I was hoping you'd say that."

They didn't get much sleep that night.

Naruto only remembered he had promised to spar with Toru when the guy found him as he was eating lunch in a small shop.

"I was about to ask if you were ready… but considering how much food you ordered… It might be a while before you're good to go." Toru pointed at the three plates of food lined up in front of Naruto. "Are you waiting for someone?"

"Nah. I'm hungry, that's all."

"…Man, that's worse than an Akimichi."

"I'm a growing boy."

"Are you…?" He was already gigantic.

"Eh. I think I might be done by now, actually." Naruto shrugged.

Toru's stomach grumbled. All this food had reminded him he had not eaten yet. "And I'll sit down with you, if you don't mind."

Naruto laughed a bit, remembering the boy from his childhood. "As long as you get your own food."

They headed toward the training grounds, after that.

"Tell me, Toru…" Indra started.

"…Yup?"

He frowned. "Are these Hyūga grounds…?"

Toru looked at him in surprise. "No. Why would they be?"

Indra pointed his finger toward the north-east. "The same girl as last time is right behind this patch of trees."

"No way."

"You again?!" Hanabi screamed, flying through the trees. "What are you doing on my team's grounds?"

"Aw c'mon." Toru groaned. This time, he was actually innocent. Which she likely wouldn't believe, of course.

Indra tried. "Hyūga-san, I think this is an honest mistake."

She glared at him. "I don't even know who you are in the first place."

He shrugged. "I'm just here for a few days."

Toru tried to jump on the opportunity. "Yup. Exactly. Let us use the grounds today and then we'll be on our way."

A vein throbbed on Hanabi's forehead. Damn. How could she be sweet Hinata's sister…?

She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Why don't you go see your cousin, anyway? He should be almost there, at this hour, my sister tells me."

"Sasuke's back…?" Toru said, suddenly excited. "Well, shit. Indra! Mind if we have our spar later..? Actually, why don't you come with me? My cousin's a bit of a square, but maybe you'd get along."

Toru vanished with a Body Flicker, breaking a branch. Behind him, Indra's face turned carefully blank, before he shrugged.

He jumped after him.

Hanabi screamed some obscenities after Toru.

Uchiha Sasuke went through the village gates.

Jiraiya was not with him at the moment. They had split just a few hours ago, the Sanin apparently going on ahead to Suna for negotiations.

He let out a long sigh. It had been a six-months long mission, and he had missed home.

Sasuke's eyes scanned the crowd. His Sharingan was on most of the time, by now, the Bijū's chakra and healing preventing him from feeling any real strain.

'There.'

Hinata was waiting for him, with a dazzling smile.

"Sasuke-kun."

Both of them being their respective clan leader's children, things such as showing affection in public were supposed to be beneath them.

Today, after six months away, Sasuke ignored all that, choosing to take her into his arms instead. She let out a cute little noise when he gave her a deep kiss, but reciprocated. Somebody whistled.

Hearing that snapped him out of his trance. Standing on the rooftops were Toru, as well as a huge blond man he knew he had never seen before.

They both jumped down.

"Is this a bad moment?" Toru asked, laughing.

Sasuke sighed, with a fond smile. "I didn't really expect anything else, honestly."

Hinata laughed.

Naruto met Sasuke for the first time in years.

The first thing he noticed was how powerful… dense his chakra was.

Toru was strong, and had chakra reserves that put most Uchiha's to shame, including Shisui and Itachi — though that was according to him, so...

Sasuke's dwarfed Toru's. And they were even larger than his own, which didn't happen all too often. His chakra had a strange quality to it, though.

There was no real separation between his own… and the One-Tail's chakra. It wasn't entirely human, and it wasn't really a Bijū's either. It stood somewhere in the middle, calm and furious at the same time, wind and fire.

He had grown tall, and compared to when he had still been a child, there was no doubt about his own ability in his eyes. His was the look of a man who had proven his worth, his strength… to himself and the world.

Toru seemed to still be struggling some with being compared to his own prodigious brother, from what little Naruto had gleaned.

Sasuke, on the other hand, wasn't running after his brother's shadow anymore.

It made Naruto happy.

And to some degree, walking casually down the streets to the Hokage Tower, with Toru and Sasuke, — as well as his fiance, apparently — felt like the old days.

Of course, a part of him, more cynical, told him this wouldn't last.

"Umi, then?" Hinata asked.

"Yes. I'll be leaving in about two days." Indra confirmed.

"I don't think I've ever heard of it before. No offense meant, Indra." Sasuke thought aloud.

"None taken. It's a new village."

"Did you come here for business, then?" Sasuke asked.

"Nah, not exactly."

"He came to copy our fancy Fire jutsu." Toru grinned.

"…Aren't you guys the clan of copycats?"

Toru pretended to look offended. "I would never dare."

Hinata laughed softly. Sasuke grumbled something.

"What did you say?" Indra asked.

"We can't just copy techniques like this anymore. There was an… incident a few years ago." Sasuke repeated.

"…Are you blushing?" Indra asked, squinting his eyes.

"He really is!" Toru grinned.

"Something you did, then?" Indra continued.

Sasuke didn't elaborate. Hinata did, instead.

"My clan and his had something of… a rivalry going on."

"Even now, actually." Toru interjected.

She nodded gracefully. "This is true. So when Sasuke here copied and used some of our clan's most prized techniques against my cousin, in the Chūnin exams, five years ago…"

"He got into trouble with both clans." Toru laughed. Sasuke wisely said nothing, looking elsewhere. "It took him years to muster the courage to announce that he and Hinata were dating."

Sasuke groaned. "Neji — her cousin — used to be insufferable after the exams. He'd have done his best to convince her father that I was about the worst person Hinata could choose. Not that he needed much convincing."

"My father is not that bad." Hinata defended.

Sasuke just gave her a flat look. She looked away, amused.

Indra asked. "What happened to this Neji guy?"

Hinata stiffened.

"…That's a story for another time, I believe." Sasuke said.

"A complete success, then?" Fugaku asked.

"I would say so, Father." Sasuke nodded.

Fugaku chuckled. "I didn't expect anything else from my son. This should appease tensions with Iwa for the foreseeable future. You did well, Sasuke."

Sasuke smiled. When he had been a child, he had always craved his father's approval, and in the last few years, he had gotten it. He didn't feel the same need for it, but it always felt good to be acknowledged.

"Thank you, Father."

"You are dismissed."

"Will you be home for dinner? Mother's making Katsudon. Itachi's here, too."

There was a lot Fugaku needed to do and-

"…Yes. I will be."

"Good."

Sasuke smiled and left.

Despite how familiar everything felt, when he was around his graduation class… things were entirely different. The fact that they wouldn't tell him about what happened with Neji exactly was a reminder that he was an outsider.

Well, this would be over soon, anyway.

Naruto was eating ramen in a small stall he could remember from his childhood. Tomorrow, he'd be free to leave.

"Mind if I sit here?" Naruto heard someone ask.

He almost choked on his noodles, when he picked her chakra up. Instead, he played it cool.

"Sure, go ahead, Ino."

"You remember my name, then?" She asked, sitting on the stool next to his.

"You're easy to remember."

"So you are a flirt. Probably say this to every girl, don't you?"

"Only on Tuesdays."

She snorted. "Never heard this one before."

"I like to think I came up with it, yes." Naruto deadpanned.

Ino ordered some ramen, as well.

"Tell me." He started. "What brings you here tonight?"

"Oh…?" She smirked. "So you're not all muscles and brawn?"

He gave her a flat look. "Nah. I like to think I have a decent brain, too. Glad you noticed the huge muscles, though. That's definitely what they're here for."

Ino laughed, almost punching his shoulder, before deciding against it, seemingly perplexed as to why she would in the first place.

Naruto continued. "Assuming you're not here to keep watch on me… Likely not interested in joining my village…" He gave her a little smirk. "Not here for my beautiful eyes either."

"Go on." She said. "I'm sure you can figure it out."

"Trying to get some free food, definitely."

She paused, blinking. Then a chuckle escaped her. Followed by another, until she's full-on laughing.

"My god, you're such an ass."

"Thank you."

"I take it your awful sense of humor is why he's interested in you."

"Sarutobi? Yeah, we're just sharing bad jokes."

Ino snorted. "Right."

"I didn't expect you to be the person he'd send to me."

"Because I'm a woman?" She said innocently.

Naruto snorted. "What does this even have to do with it?"

She shrugged. "You'd never guess what some people believe."

"And you would?"

"Well… I kinda am a mind-reader."

"If you're so good… What am I thinking now?" He asked.

She rolled her eyes. "With only eye contact, I can only skim surface thoughts."

"That should be enough." He grinned.

She hesitated. "Look, if you're going to show me something perverted, forget about it."

"It won't be." He assured.

"…This is so stupid."

Still, she stared into his eyes.

Then, she abruptly stopped with a disgusted noise.

"God my eyes! Whyyyy?" She mimed puking. "What the hell is wrong with you…?"

Naruto was laughing. This time, she punched his shoulder.

"I just wanted to try if it actually worked, that's all." He apologized.

"Ugh. Why Sarutobi, though…?" She groaned.

Naruto just shrugged.

"First guy that came to mind."

"I don't think your mind is a place I want to be in."

"Shame."

He let her start to eat. She started chuckling. Then she was laughing so hard she had to stop, and some people were noticing.

"See? You find it funny, too." He grinned.

Ino was red-faced, trying to get the picture out of her head.

"Yeah. I guess. Might be worth erasing my own memories, though."

"Up to you."

They resume eating, in comfortable silence.

"Tomorrow." She said, breaking it.

"Huh?"

"Tomorrow, I'll get you the scrolls you requested from Sarutobi."

"Ah. Very well. Thank you, Ino."

"It's not really on me. I'm just the delivery woman."

"Still."

She nodded graciously. "The Hokage has to approve of their content, before anything, apparently. …You're not smuggling anything illegal…?" Ino asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

Sarutobi hadn't said anything like that before. Hopefully, this wouldn't be any trouble.

"Well, if it were… I wouldn't tell you, would I?" He asked, staring into her eyes. "Plus the Hokage is gonna take a look, anyway."

"…I guess so."

"Well… In that case, I will meet you tomorrow. Any specific place?"

Ino nodded. "Sure, let me tell you…"

Naruto went back to Umi that night.

No matter how casual he tried to be about the whole being in Konoha thing, he was shaken. Seeing everybody was making him feel unbalanced.

Sakura apparently wasn't here yet, either.

Karin seemed to notice how he felt. They sparred until the middle of the night.

Sleep didn't come easy, so instead of wasting time turning in bed, he started tinkering with a few ideas he had wanted to try out, but never found the time for.

Including some that were a bit more abstract, such as emotion-driven barriers, which turned out to be a royal pain in the ass to even get started with.

Karin, being the patient woman that she was, stayed up to help, until they both passed out.

There would not be any wasting time, tomorrow. He'd get out of the village as soon as possible.

Yamanaka Ino went to meet Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Show this one to Fugaku, Ino." The Third said, handing her a blue scroll.

She bowed. "I will, Sarutobi-sama."

"And this one…" He added, handing her a purple one. "This one, you shall give to Indra directly."

Ino hesitated. This was a breach of protocol, she was pretty sure. Sarutobi looked her in the eye.

"I won't lie to you, Ino, as you have proven to be more apt at mind reading than anybody since Hisagi died…"

She took the compliment for what it was. The truth. Her own father had been better, when it came to disrupting, controlling and destroying people's minds.

But she had already surpassed him when it came to the softer side of things. Sometimes, she wondered if he'd be proud. Well, no. Knowing him, he would have been.

But knowing it was not the same thing. She missed her father, his reassuring presence. Every day. And she knew her mother did, as well.

But she was a shinobi, and her mother was strong. They would manage.

The Third continued. "These scrolls need to reach Indra. Particularly the latter one. This… could be about more than Konoha itself."

What was all this about?

"And Ino… I have one question for you."

"Ask me anything."

"Did Indra… harbor any ill will toward Konoha at all?" Sarutobi asked, face unreadable.

She wasn't surprised by the question at all. This sort of cursory scan was one of the reasons the Yamanaka were considered one of the most important clans in Konoha.

And it was part of the reason she had been acting so casually with the man. That was not to say that she hadn't enjoyed the banter.

"…I didn't do much more than skim his thoughts yesterday." She mused. "But… No. No, I don't think so. Or rather, if he does, it is not strong enough to reach the forefront of his mind."

Sarutobi let out a long sigh. "Good. That's… very good. Thank you, Ino. I knew you were the right choice for this."

"I wish I could tell you more, but it would require more overt techniques… or him being asleep."

"I don't believe this will be needed." Sarutobi packed and lit his pipe with deft hands that betrayed his age. "This is all I can ask of you. And of him." He muttered.

Ino didn't ask anything. She wanted to, though.

Sarutobi blew smoke. "The Hokage would understand the need for this, but there are too many things at play here. Too many eyes, too. Secrecy is needed. You don't have to accept, though."

Ino hesitated.

In the end, her trust in Sarutobi won.

"I will make sure that they reach him."

Ino stood in front of the Hokage.

The blue scroll was open in front of him, his red eyes scanning over its content in a fraction of the time it would normally take for a person to read it.

Despite herself, Ino felt guilty. She was deceiving someone who was, by all accounts, a fair man.

"I see." He said. "Some of the contents are a bit… on the dangerous side of things, but if Hiruzen trusts this Indra… I shall trust him too."

Yes. She definitely felt guilty.

"You may deliver the scroll to him, Yamanaka-san."

"Yes. I shall do so, Hokage-sama."

As she turned to leave, the Hokage took another sip of his tea, and he let out a choked cough soon after.

Was he okay? She took a look at him. He motioned for her to go on.

She left the room.

The Hokage stood in front of his Council, in the same room.

Danzo, Koharu, Homura. As well as Nara Shikaku, Jōnin Commander.

"The Iwa border situation is under control, then. Thanks to Sasuke." Koharu said.

Fugaku nodded, not trusting his voice.

Homura added. "Now, with Jiraiya re-negotiating trade agreements with Suna, we should likely be able to keep a tentative peace with them, as well."

"I don't trust Suna." Danzo spoke. "Ever since they lost their unstable Container, they've been pushing, prodding for compensation."

Fugaku let out a cough. When all eyes turned upon him, he waved them off. Danzo glared at him, as if he had done it on purpose.

"Konoha is stronger than Suna. We should use this to our advantage." The old man continued.

"This would worsen relationships with Kiri." Shikaku began. "Their alliance is a recent one, but it seems to hold strong."

"Kumo would not mind crushing them, if it came to it." Danzo shot back.

Cough.

This was strange. Had he fallen ill…?

"Iwa would not stand by idly, if we just started asserting our power in such an overt way. They would fear being the next." Homura's voice rose a bit.

"And what can Iwa do, with no strong ties to their allies?" Danzo questioned. "Konoha has never been as strong as it is today. Kumo would follow our lead."

Fugaku let out a rattling cough.

"Hokage-sama…?" Koharu asked.

Blood. Huh. This was not good. He coughed again. And again.

"Call a medic. Now." Shikaku said, urgently.

Was he looking that bad..?

He was feeling kinda weak.

Another cough. More blood. Way more blood. His hands shook.

He tried to call upon his Sharingan. More out of habit than anything else. He couldn't.

The Council members rushed to him, all of them.

He just wanted them to give him some space.

Fugaku couldn't breathe.

He thought of his family. Of his friends. Those that were alive. Those that had died.

His parents.

Asahi. Setsuna. Saburo.

Itachi. Sasuke.

Miko-

"Somebody call… someone! The Hokage was just murdered!"