V.2-C.3│Into Exile III│

Looking over his documents, documents with which had lots of information from major to minor things, Minato didn't know whether or not to fully trust the information provided.

Sure, Lord Danzo is Lord Hiruzen's friend and was trusted with such a position he currently holds, but that didn't mean Minato shouldn't have some sort or form of distrust against this man.

Then there is a whole host of other things that is unrelated to Obito Uchiha that Minato has to worry about as the Hokage.

His job is to be the leader and protector of everyone and everything within the village.

While he was doing his work, someone made their presence known. "Lord Hokage." It was the fox masked Kakashi, in his ANBU attire.

"Hm. What is it?" Minato replied, not referring to Kakashi by name right now, even if the others that are nearby already know about Kakashi in this status.

Also, it was also not that hard to know that it is Kakashi before him, as most children don't have the same height as a normal adult. "I have come because I have some questions... questions regarding Obito." Kakashi responded, making Minato frown a little, for a second, before his face went back to neutral.

"I know he is your friend, but I would suggest you don't associate yourself with him anymore." Minato stated.

"I know that, Lord Hokage, it's just-..." Kakashi stopped himself, or he didn't know what to say.

"Listen." Minato continued. "The bad thing about betrayal, is that it never comes from the enemy. It only comes from a friend." Minato didn't exactly have experience with betrayal as of yet, but he did know, understand that one must choose their close ones wisely, just as much as they would choose a lifetime partner.

Kakashi seemed like he had something more to say, but instead kept his mouth shut, prompting Minato to become curious or interested in what exactly Kakashi was thinking about. "Thank you, Lord Hokage. I will heed your advice." Kakashi responded, his inner conflict about something not clear to Minato except for the fact that Kakashi wanted to say more.

"Good... How is your father by the way?" Minato was making polite conversation now.

"He's... fine." Kakashi responded.

"That's good. Though, I was hoping to see whether or not he would come out of his retirement. Right now, Konoha needs him... I was wondering if you could put in some good words, to try and convince your father that he is needed." Minato explained.

Sakumo Hatake was someone powerful enough, skilled enough to warrant Minato's attention or focus on the man.

Sakumo Hatake, renowned across the shinobi world as 'Konoha's White Fang,' was a jonin of Konohagakure's Hatake clan.

Sakumo was hailed as a genius shinobi, and was praised for his talents in the ninja arts even by Minato himself. In his prime, Sakumo was a truly powerful shinobi whose skill and fame were said to overshadow even that of the Sannin.

The mere idea of facing Sakumo brought fear to his enemies, as shown from the reaction of an Iwagakure shinobi who mistook Kakashi for him, despite Kakashi being a child at the time.

He was also very proficient in kenjutsu, his reputation as 'Konoha's White Fang' stemming from his extensive use of the White Light Chakra Sabre, which emitted a streak of white chakra when swung.

Sakumo's skillset very much could of put him in the same position that Minato now holds, as the Hokage, though Sakumo is not only retired but by all accounts has already started to hand over off clan activities and leadership towards his son, Kakashi, slowly over the years.

"Of course, Lord Hokage..." Kakashi responded respectfully, though he was unsure of what he would do. Of whether or not he should even say anything more about his fathers plans. 'It shouldn't harm anyone...' Kakashi dismissed even telling.

There was no need, and it wasn't like Sakumo is currently relevant to much of the shinobi life right now. He could decide to do what he wants to do.

There was a chance however that he be branded a traitor of some kind, for a shinobi, a ninja is someone, that while can be 'retired,' it isn't true retirement.

In general, shinobi, also interchangeably referred to as ninja, are the primary focus and the main military power in the series. A female ninja is known as a kunoichi.

Most come from a hidden village, of which some come from specialized ninja clans, and will perform missions for a fee. These missions can include: doing manual labor, acting as escorts, gathering secret information, retrieving stolen items, carrying out assassinations, etc. In times of war, ninja will come together to defend their villages and land.

The clearest characteristic of a shinobi is their ability to manipulate chakra to create and use techniques. Shinobi are expected to be loyal to their villages for life, and any defectors are considered to be missing-nin, and will be marked for death.

Could Kakashi's father really be considered a defector? 'No... He has been loyal...' Kakashi himself may have been taken under Minato's wings, but that didn't mean he was unable to come to terms with things in relation to greater misconduct, abuse of power, the lifestyle of a shinobi.

All of it was something to take into consideration, but most of all for Kakashi is his friends and family. Just as it was or is important for everyone else.

"Thank you. You may leave now. I'm expecting others..." Minato stated, motioning for Kakashi to leave.

"Yes, Lord Hokage." Kakashi would disappear back into the shadows from where he came from, now content to just watch over and wait for what is to come.

He would make his decision after watching Minato in particular, someone that he kind of sees as an elder brother like figure. Someone that is exemplary and follows the ninja code the best.

Almost to a fault.

Some time would pass, before Minato would then be alerted to the presence of one person, one woman to be more precise.

Minato expected for Mikoto Uchiha to come along as well, but with only Kushina Uzumaki coming here, he guesses that is fine as well. She is probably here to get some more information about just what is going on with Obito.

'Obito does seem to have some grand luck, I must admit...' Minato thought to himself, as it was truly a sign that Obito was surrounded by beautiful women. He could admit.

"Lord Hokage." Kushina entered, and while he expected her to be a bit more rude like she was back in their academy days, there was no such attitude. She held a neutral look, and he suspected that she wasn't exactly happy with his decision.

"Kush-... I mean, Miss Uzumaki, why is it you have come?" Minato asked, knowing the most probable reason.

"Why else?" Kushina replied back, her red hair, violet colored eyes, and fair skin clear for Minato to see. "I want to see him, Obito I mean."

"See him... I understand that you are worried and all of that, but the crimes he has committed is-" Minato was interrupted.

"Do you really think so? That Obito would be a traitor, sell out his village, this place that is his home?" Kushina questioned him back, with a small amount of anger seeping through. "Or... are there other reasons as to why this is happened? Do you, can you really trust those around you?"

Kushina knows a lot of stuff, and a person that Mito had warned Kushina about was Danzo, as while he was someone that was doing things for the good of the village, Konoha, he is also, in the end a very selfish man that put his needs, his desires above absolutely everything else.

It wouldn't be a surprise to one day find out that Danzo had sold of the village in a last ditch effort to save himself from ultimate doom.

"It is reliable." Minato responded, also understand where she is coming from. He didn't expect her to be angry at him like this though, especially since he hadn't just outright gone ahead and killed Obito.

True, Minato shares some of the same skills with Obito in the form of the Hiraishin, but he is the Hokage. He should be more than skilled enough, powerful enough to kill Obito if he so desired.

He just doesn't do so because he is thinking of Kushina and how she would feel about his death.

It would not do good for him, nor the village to lose their jinchuriki for the Kyuubi, especially in these uncertain times. After all, the Third World War had ended not too long ago.

"Really...? Obito isn't the only reason I have come here. I wish to no longer be a kunoichi." Kushina stated, shocking Minato that Kushina would make such a statement.

For many reasons.

One being that it was, is a stable job and brings in a reliable, more than reliable source of income. It would pay for everything, as long as she does the work. A second reason being that there is no actual 'out' for a ninja, because it is expected ones loyalty remains firm until they day they die.

"What? I'm afraid that is not possible." Minato had stood up at this point. "You must understand why, right?" Of course she should.

"I do. But, I don't want to work for the village anymore, or its clients if you continue to be like this with Obito." Even if they went back on their decision, Kushina and Mikoto had already made plans to leave, alongside Tsunade.

They are going either way, and Kushina has a feeling that Obito would probably follow them along. 'Of course, Obito should love Mikoto and myself more than the village.' It was actually ridiculous to even consider if Obito would abandon them for a chance to come crawling back to the village.

Completely.

"Miss Uzumaki..." Minato trailed off, not knowing what to say at this moment, for he wasn't expecting this. Minato's face adopted a serious expression. "You have to know, that if you or anyone that is a shinobi tries to leave and abandon Konohagakure, they will be treated the same way that Obito would be after he is exiled, right?"

"I understand that completely. I understand the implications and consequences, but you will not stop me nor will anyone else. Neither will you stop Mikoto either, or even Lady Tsunade." Kushina brought up Tsunade specifically because Tsunade was able to avoid such a hard punishment by her abandonment.

"..." Minato didn't say anything else, as Kushina turned her back towards him.

"Lord Hokage... you have made a mistake." Kushina would leave him there, from his office, officially giving him their plans, Mikoto Uchiha's and Kushina Uzumaki's plans on leaving.

Or at least some sort of warning to such an occurrence happening. He couldn't allow that, now could he?

[]

The origins of the ninja ultimately date back over a millennia to the arrival of Isshiki and Kaguya of the Otsutsuki Clan, celestial invaders who sought to cultivate a God Tree and harvest a chakra fruit on Earth.

After Kaguya 'fell in love' with a human and betrayed her clan, she passed the power of chakra on to her twin sons, Hagoromo and Hamura. Kaguya was eventually driven to madness and battled against her own sons, who sealed her away and divided her chakra into the nine Tailed Beasts.

In time the elder brother, Hagoromo, would develop the philosophy of ninshu, through which he sought to disseminate chakra among the human population as a means of uniting them in harmony, and became known as the Sage of Six Paths.

It was Hagoromo's elder son, Indra, who first developed methods to weaponize chakra, creating ninjutsu.

Following Hagoromo's death a feud erupted between Indra and his younger brother Asura for leadership of the sect, spurred on by a being known as Zetsu, bringing about a multi-generational conflict that would divide its followers into various clans and engulf much of the world for centuries.

During the resulting Warring States Period, Hagoromo's teachings were gradually forgotten until all that remained of ninshu was ninjutsu, and those who wielded the techniques became known as ninja.

Two of Hagoromo's descendants, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, would eventually unify a number of clans to found Konohagakure and form an alliance with the Land of Fire, resulting in the first of the Five Great Shinobi Countries and the modern shinobi village system, in which various unified clans act as mercenary forces for affiliated nations.

Though this resulted in brief periods of peace, large scale conflict still plagued the world for several consecutive generations, resulting in the First, Second, and Third Shinobi World Wars.

Right now, such wars may be over, and other things, places, factions and people are developing throughout the globe.

Most of all, within the ruins of another place happened to be the start up of some sort of faction, a faction of which that wished to renew their country under the rule of a person that the people have been looking up to.

A person that could be considered 'royalty' of their lands. An Uzumaki.