Chapter 22: The Memorial Stone

Chapter Twenty Two– The Memorial Stone

"It's not good to hide your wounds, you know. I'm looking after you." - Nohara Rin

The week after the great battle by the Midori fields was hard for Naruto think about. The whole village was in a collected mourning. So many had died in one day it was absurd.

Iwa had lost over one thousand six hundred of their ninjas, Kumo had lost around eight hundred, and Konoha had lost six hundred and eighty five. All in one day… In the same place. Not counting Obito or people fighting in other places.

The number was surreal to others, but not to Naruto. She had been there. She'd seen it. She'd contributed to the tally.

The memories were constantly in the back of her mind, making Naruto have long and restless nightmares and waking up sweaty and clammy in the early morning hours. The dreams didn't contain any people, and it was all the more horrid for it. It was just her alone in vast, green fields while she walked down a river filled with scarlet blood. Alone. She was so alone that the absence of people felt claustrophobic.

It took time getting the funerals arranged. With so many killed, the rescheduling of their military forces and the autopsies took up all the time of both the Hospital and the Hokage office.

It was two weeks later the memorial services started. About seventy five were remembered each day over nine days. Naruto had managed to show at five of the funerals in between her duties. Obito's memorial service being on the very last day.

It was a typical autumn day. The sky comfortably overcast but not too cold as they came to pay their respect to those who'd given their life for Konoha.

Anko and Naruto stood with Orochimaru in the middle of the large crowd as the funeral ceremony came to an end. Shisui was standing with his clan today, next to his father at the front of the crowd.

Anko was drying her eyes while Naruto stared at the photograph at the front. Obito was smiling widely, all his teeth showing and his googles pushed up. So full of life it was sickeningly ironic to use it for his funeral. Especially when Naruto knew that from now he'd be no more than a name inscribed in the marble of the memorial stone.

Akiko came up behind them, and squeezed Naruto's shoulder in comfort. She had come here to pay respect to Obito, standing alone all the way in the back. She was still nervous being around ninjas, but she had still showed up to honor the fallen protectors of Konoha. "I'm so sorry." She said quietly.

"Thanks, Akiko. I'm glad you came." Naruto mumbled back.

"Me too. Obito-kun was great and I'll really miss him. Dinners at your apartment won't be the same without him." Akiko replied sadly.

"Heh… You're right."

"How are his teammates doing? Rin-chan and Kakashi-kun?"

Anko turned towards them, slipping on her "tough girl" mask despite having red, puffy eyes to give her away. "As well as you can expect." Anko answered casually, and fidgeted with the sleeve of her black shirt.

"I'm glad you're okay though. All three of you." Akiko said carefully and looked at Anko. "I heard you took part in that battle."

"Thanks..." Anko mumbled and studied her feet.

"Is there anything I can do?"

Naruto smiled thankfully, but shook her head. "Not really, the fact that you care is enough."

"I feel bad for Kakashi-kun though. Doesn't he live alone?" Akiko replied and looked in his direction. He was talking with Kushina, Minato and Rin by the picture of Obito, all of them looking down at him while they murmured quietly to one another.

"He does..." Naruto answered and thought it over in her head. "Maybe we should invite him to dinner tonight, Anko? So he won't be alone? Rin has her parents and Minato has Kushina, but he doesn't really have anyone like that right now."

Anko nodded at once in agreement. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Want to join us, Akiko?"

Akiko was startled at the invitation, but was happy all the same. "Yeah, that would be nice."

Naruto looked curiously around at the people standing in their flat. Many of them had been there plenty of times before, but not once had it been like this.

Everyone was in black, and Naruto wasn't sure how it had happened, but Naruto and Anko had somehow ended up throwing Obito's wake in their own home.

At first they had talked Kakashi into eating dinner with them. They didn't want him to be alone, and to get him to agree they'd made Rin join too. Her parents hadn't been all that happy their daughter skipped family dinner after a day like she'd had, but understood she wanted to spend time with her friends. Kakashi felt less of a charity case when Rin had asked him instead of Anko and Naruto.

Then Kurenai had insisted she came along too. She'd overheard Anko and Naruto discuss inviting Rin and Kakashi for dinner because it would cheer Kakashi up to have company, and told them she could bring some cookies for them to snack on while they cooked. Somehow Asuma thought that meant he was invited too, and he insisted he'd bring a type of tea that went well with the cookies. Neither Anko or Naruto was sure how to tell him it wasn't like that, everyone was so sad, so they'd said the more the better.

Which Genma and Gai had overheard. So they offered to bring something for dessert.

And before either Anko or Naruto was sure what had happened, there were seventeen people in total - all dressed in black – squeezed into their modest flat. Sitting on the floor or on the couch in their living room.

To make more space, most sat on the floor, the chairs and table were stuffed into Naruto's bedroom to make room, and people ate off paper plates and cups which Shisui again had the foresight to bring along.

Naruto had put out some blankets on the floor for people to sit on instead of the cold timber. Anko was making sure the water was constantly boiling so there would be enough tea to go around, while their guests talked quietly amongst each other after dinner.

"I remember when we started the academy, and Obito and I stole our sensei forehead protector and tried it on in the hallway." Muttered Genma with a faraway expression and a small smile.

"Or the time when he was sure his Sharingan had activated? Since he heard that when they activated it could feel like they were burning. But it turned out he'd just gotten chili in his eyes after making dinner?" Chuckled Asuma.

There were many of those stories. All of them fond memories from his classmates perspective. Naruto smiled and shared some of her own too.

It was good to smile. It felt like a relief after such a horrible day. After such horrible weeks.

While team Minato had been at Kannabi bridge, blowing it up to stop Iwa from receiving supplies, another battle had taken place simultaneously many miles away. The one team Orochimaru had participated in.

They said Minato had killed over a thousand ninjas single handedly that day. Naruto wasn't sure if that strictly speaking was true. But maybe the tally wasn't that far off. A lot of people had helped along though, Orochimaru had probably killed a couple of hundreds single handedly, but Minato had certainly taken a very large portion on his own.

Konoha had been badly outnumbered, but thanks to his efforts many had come home with their life intact, and the battle had been victorious.

Memories from the battle had a habit of popping up when Naruto least expected them to. Like at right now. The sudden memory would shoot up as if one of her clones had just popped, and it always resulted in the same. She momentarily shut down. The image appearing so vividly it felt like she was back there for the second the memory held.

When it was over her chest would constrict, leaving a heavy pressure that would stay for hours until she found something to distract her.

Another person came through the open entrance door, carrying a box under his arm. "Sorry I'm a little late. I had to eat dinner with my parents instead, but I ran by the store and brought dango. Not sure if there's enough though. I didn't know there would be so many people here." Genma muttered and held up the box.

"Dango?" Asked Anko and wandered over. "I've never had dango."

Genma didn't look like he believed her. "How can you not have eaten dango before? You should try some. They're really good. Do you have a plate though? It's easier for people to take it from a plate instead of this box."

Anko nodded and went over to the counter. She found her plate and had to jump over people to place the plate in the middle of the crowd.

Naruto had long since given up on moving around in the room. Instead she sat in the window frame. She'd opened the window to air out the increasingly heating room, and even with the low temperatures outside it was appreciated.

Smiling to herself Naruto watched Genma attempt to find somewhere to sit when Rin came up to sit in the other window, her arms resting in her lap while she looked at her classmates talking quietly amongst each other.

"Rin..." Naruto said quietly, bending forwards to see the girl clearer.

"Obito would have liked this." Rin said and smiled weakly to Naruto. She was all dried out of tears now. She'd cried constantly since Obito had died, but there were no tears left in her now.

"I'm not sure… Maybe if we'd served chocolate cookies. He hated the vanilla ones." Naruto murmured and gestured to the mostly empty tray next to the plate Genma was placing dango on.

Rin's smile widened for a moment, before she ducked her head. Her hair falling like a dark curtain between them.

"I still don't..." Rin said quietly. Trailing off and taking a deep breath before she continued. "I still think he's around. I expect him to knock on my door and ask me to hang out… That I'll see him at team meeting tomorrow… That..." She stopped and combed her hair behind her ear. "It's surreal. Obito was so alive. The fact that he is somehow dead is the most absurd joke I've ever heard."

Naruto couldn't quite find the words to reply. She knew exactly what she was saying. It really didn't make sense. Nothing really did these days.

"I… I wanted to say thank you." Rin admitted, her voice going up an octave at the end.

"For what?" Asked Naruto, not sure what she could have done to earn thanks in this situation.

"For looking after Kakashi and me. Especially Kakashi… I have my parents, but he… we're all he has." Rin muttered.

"You two will be okay someday, Rin." Naruto said. "I promise you. Obito is with you in your heart. Keep his memory alive, and he'll never be gone. Live your life as if he's always watching."

Rin finally looked up and met Naruto's eyes. For a moment they just stared at one another, before Rin nodded slowly. An uneasy smile on her lips.

Their attention was brought back to the other occupants of the flat though, because Anko had just tried the dango. "Oh Kami! These are delicious! Where did you buy these?" Asked Anko astonished, chewing dango with a look of pure ecstasy on her face and slapping away Kurenai's hand from taking a piece.

Shisui was hurrying through the streets of Konoha. He was running late, but it really wasn't his fault this time. Naruto and Anko had kept him longer than expected at training, and he desperately needed a shower before it started. But when he hurried out of his home his dad had needed Shisui to deliver a message.

So now Shisui was rushing after delivering a message to the Aburame clan, who lived on the opposite side of town to where he needed to be.

The only upside to the situation was how wonderfully distracting it was. Ever since the battle, Shisui had struggled with painful memories. Knowing what he had done that day. Running was one of the few ways he could free his mind and gain some control over his thoughts. It was liberating to escape the constant mingling of dark images that had occupied his consciousness for the last few weeks.

It was tempting to just run from the truth. Run even if it was just for a short while, and then he'd be back to reality again.

From a narrow street corner he saw Genma come running too. Shisui wasn't the only one late. "Genma!" He shouted, his voice carrying in the quiet street. No one just hung out in this part of the village. It was the industrial part and working hours were over.

Genma halted, his head whipping around at the sound of his voice. "Shisui! Come on, we need to hurry."

"I'm coming!" Shisui huffed and hurried his steps, slowly gaining space between him and Genma.

Shisui had used up more chakra during training than he was comfortable with, seeing as he was not finished for the day, and would undoubtedly be asked to use more before nightfall.

They finally arrived at the warehouse. The façade was run down and tired, but the inside was in better shape. This was their fourth meeting here.

Genma opened the door and stepped in, with Shisui following quickly after. The narrow corridor was weakly illuminated. The paint was peeling off the wall revealing a partly crumbling brick structure underneath.

Genma sighed when he saw the watch right over the entrance door. They still had two minutes; they'd made it just on time.

"I hope he's not too strict on us today, I just came back from a mission." Genma muttered and brushed away a few strands of hair from his eyes, walking quickly to cross the long corridor.

Shisui nodded in agreement. "Yeah… I had a long training today. Anko had me work on my defensive training, and you know my teammates. It's a full time job to try and get them to stay back."

"Heh, I think I can relate. My teammate is Gai." Genma winked and chuckled at Shisui's sympathetic look.

They entered into a wide empty hall. The ceiling was covered in metal plate cladding, the walls of scarred concrete and with each footstep they took echoed heavily through the room. It was used for heavy machinery and storage during the day, but the council had borrowed it to them for their meetings. They had met up in an office before, but there just wasn't enough space there.

Three people were already there when Genma and Shisui showed up. They mingled and talked for a while, all of them not mentioning the ones who were yet to arrive. Shisui was annoyed though. He'd hurried to get here on time, and now the others were late?

Fifteen minutes later the door opened again, and Kakashi came in, looking refreshed as ever. He didn't even seem ashamed that he'd been late.

"You're late, Kakashi." Muttered Genma and rolled his eyes when all Kakashi did was shrug.

"You're always a little late these days." Shisui added when Kakashi came to stand next to him.

"I was visiting, Obito," Kakashi answered. "And I'm not really late am I?"

Kakashi gestured to the doorway, all of them understanding what he was referring to. Their reason for being here was yet to show up.

"There was a council meeting. I was asked to wait to deliver my report because they were busy. I think I saw him there..." Genma said thoughtfully.

"Exactly, Minato-sensei won't come until they're finished in there." Kakashi answered. "I was asked to tell you guys about that, but don't worry, it won't be long."

As if Kakashi's word had been a summon, the door opened again.

"I apologize. The meeting ran long." Minato walked up to them with deliberate steps, his face downcast. "Let's get started."

Naruto sat quietly outside the cage of the Kyūbi, having a silent staring match with the demon.

"You can stare all you want, brat. It won't change anything."

"Just tell me already! Did this happen the first time around? It must have right? Kakashi's Sharingan is Obito's, right? It was then and it is now."

The Kyūbi shifted, his shoulders lowering and his tails swishing annoyed. "I prefer watching you live in uncertainty. And how would I know anyway? The most time I've spent around your old sensei was when he was – in fact – your sensei."

"You know! You were inside Kushina, and Kushina was around Minato. He knows what happened. They probably talked, because Kushina cares a lot about Obito. So you know, and that's why you won't tell me, dattebayo."

The Kyūbi closed his eyes, his head turning away. "Maybe..."

"Please..." Naruto muttered, her head ducking. "Please just… can't you tell me? What does it matter anyway? Obito is dead, and Kakashi has his eye."

"Fine..." Grumbled the fox. "If it means you'll stop bothering me… Yes. Obito died like this the first time around too. Crushed by boulders and gave his eye to Kakashi. Kushina was a mess for a month afterwards, she was more unbearable than normal to be inside back then."

Naruto exhaled, her shoulders sagged while she took in that information. This had happened before. Obito had died exactly how he had the first time around, which was why Naruto had never met him in the future. Itachi hadn't killed him after all. The war had.

But what about Rin? Naruto had to keep a close eye on her. She had probably died too, and Naruto had to make sure she didn't die this time around. Kakashi had never mentioned Rin to them when they were under his care. He had only mentioned his best friend dying in the war.

Which one was it? Rin or Obito? Naruto suspected he had been referring to Obito, but there was no way of knowing.

"Thank you." Naruto said earnestly, meeting the Kyūbi's eyes and smiled. "Thank you for telling me."

The Kyūbi huffed, quickly looking pointedly away with his snout in the air.

"Can you… help me again? Can you please tell me… what happened to Rin? Do you know how she died?"

The tails waved quicker than before, and a wide ominous smile appeared on hisi face. Naruto already knew what the answer would be.

"Of course not. She'll die, and you won't be able to save her. Like Obito. Like Ebisu. Like all your friends. They'll all die one after the other, exactly the way I want them to, so why should I help you prevent that?"

Naruto frowned, her eyes darkening and her fist clenched.

"I'll tell you one thing though… She died a horrid death. I look forwards to see the aftermath again. So much hate… I'll relish in it once again."

"Oy! Brat!"

Naruto turned around at the familiar voice, surprised she'd even been noticed. Tsunade was sitting on a bench, her legs crossed while her arms lay resting against the back support on each side. Naruto had been too deep in her own thoughts to spot her while she strolled down the street on her way home from guard duty.

"Hey… You're still around." Naruto voice was audibly surprised. She hadn't seen Tsunade since the day they'd returned from the battle in the Hokage office.

"Yeah, and you're still alive." Tsunade replied. "Sit down."

She slid her hands down to rest against the seat, making space for Naruto next to her on the bench. Not having anything urgent on her agenda Naruto took the offered seat.

"I heard you were good friends with Minato's student. I'm sorry for your loss." Tsunade said conversationally, watching the people on the street pass by on their daily chores. Naruto joined her; the activity was as good as any.

"Yes. Obito was a good friend." Naruto replied. Keeping her tone as light as Tsunade's, but her mind flickered back to her previous thoughts. "What are you still doing in Konoha? I thought you were going to crawl over the wall the first chance you got with how claustrophobic you were acting when we arrived."

Tsunade chuckled and peeked sideways down at Naruto. "I honestly thought so too, but I have a few things to finish up before I leave."

Naruto pursed her lips, wondering if she would have any luck if she asked. "What things?"

Tsunade shrugged. "Sell the apartment. Withdraw money from my account. Stuff like that. Those things takes time."

So she wasn't staying. Naruto felt the flicker of hope wash away with Tsunade's words. She noticed. "That's too bad. I wish you'd stay." Naruto told her earnestly. She really did. It was painful to see Tsunade so different, but at least she was around.

"That's sweet of you to say. I was under the impression you didn't like me very much." Tsunade told her curiously. Naruto shrugged, watching a little boy being scolded by his parents for putting his hands in mud and then tugging at his mother's skirt.

"I don't like some of your choices, but it doesn't mean I don't like you as a person." Naruto answered casually.

Tsunade didn't reply to that. Instead they sat for minutes just watching people.

Eventually Naruto spoke up. "Today it's been a month..."

Tsunade looked confused. "Since what?"

"Since I put my bet on Obito." Naruto answered quietly, looking at her hands. "We had a discussion about the rasengan, Minato's technique, and Obito was supposed to show me he could do it today. He died though… Just a week after the agreement. I'm wondering if he would have managed. He was good you know, but not always very structured."

Tsunade's eyes softened, and a sad smile was on her lips when she replied. "That was a hefty bet. I'm not sure he could have managed that."

"I believe he could've done it. If he'd been given the time."

"That's always the problem, isn't it? There's never enough time. Not to spend with the ones you care about." Tsunade hummed under her breath.

"Then why are you leaving again?" Asked Naruto confused. "If all you have is time, why are you leaving the ones who care about you? The ones who're left?"

It was a question Naruto had once wanted to ask Sasuke, but it fitted Tsunade too.

Tsunade arched an eyebrow, she turned to face Naruto and leaned back. "You're a strange kid… Have you ever been told that before?"

"All the time, dattebayo."

Tsunade laughed. "No, I mean… You're very naive, and at the same time… not."

"You can describe yourself similarly." Naruto said and pointed at Tsunade. "You're here, and at the same time… not."

Tsunade looked like she wanted to argue, but instead she shook her head and stood up. Brushing off her pants while she thought. "I'll be in the area for a while. Maybe a few months, but not inside Konoha. Take care of yourself, Naruto."

"I can feed myself. In fact; I've done so for years." Kakashi muttered when Naruto climbed through his window with a basket in her right hand. It was a month since Obito's death, and Anko and Naruto had started taking turns showing up in his apartment with breakfast.

"I know." Naruto answered while putting the basket on the table. "But we had leftovers. Better that you eat them than throwing it away."

"Curious… You've had a lot of leftovers lately." Kakashi pointed out but walked over to his table and peeked curiously down into the basket. It looked quite good. There was toast.

"We've had a lot of guests lately. We never know when there will be people over, so we stay prepared." Naruto told him while nodding seriously to herself. Not convincing either of them.

She was already on her way out again when Kakashi sat down. Right before she was out of view he stopped her. "Wait… have you had any breakfast?"

Naruto appeared back in the window and shook her head. "Um… No, but we have more upstairs."

"Then sit down. We can share this." Kakashi replied and pointed to timber chair next to him.

Naruto came over and sat down, looking out of place and a little spooked. "Are you alright, Kakashi?"

Kakashi slid over the basket to her end of the small table with an easy smile. "I'm okay."

"You're…" Naruto said and drifted off while she tried to find the right words. "different." she ended up with.

Kakashi smiled brighter while he picked up a toast. Yes. He was different. He was trying out a new life motto, and so far he found it suited him well. The downside was that it had made his friends question his mental health from time to time.

To freak Naruto out even more he lowered his mask, revealing his face while in front of her. He bit into the cheesy toast and hummed appreciatively before catching Naruto's reaction. Her expression wouldn't look out of place if she'd caught him dancing around naked.

"Why do you say that?" He asked casually, pretending this was perfectly normal behavior and took another bite of his toast. Chewing demonstratively while leaving his mask down.

Naruto didn't seem able to answer. Her mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. She shook her head and her mouth shut close with clattering teeth.

"Are you sure the medics didn't overlook something when you were at the hospital, Kakashi? I don't know… maybe you hit your head really hard? Or that cut over your eye hit some sort of crazy nerve in your head? Because you seem nothing like the Kakashi I've known for four years, dattebayo." Naruto stuttered eventually, still staring at Kakashi with a mix of worry and awe.

Kakashi chuckled weakly and shook his head.

He was okay. Or he would be okay. Eventually.

Obito had finally shown him the way. He had shown him what was important in life, and it was long overdue that he started righting his many wrongs. "I'm trying to be a better friend." Kakashi admitted, finally sharing some of the many thoughts that had been swirling around in his head for weeks. "Obito… he always had it right, and I didn't see that before. A lot happened on that mission, not just..."

Again Kakashi trailed off, he wasn't quite ready to say the words yet. That Obito died on that mission. "Anyway, Obito knocked some sense into me. It was time that I listened… I wish I'd done so sooner. Maybe it would have changed everything."

Naruto swallowed and leaned back in her chair, studying Kakashi closely. "What did he say?"

"He said… that those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash." Kakashi was studying his toast while he said it, and only vaguely noticed how Naruto shifted in her chair.

She didn't reply. When he eventually looked up she had tears in her eyes and was smiling. "Obito said that to you?"

Kakashi nodded.

"I agree full heartedly with Obito."

Kakashi chuckled and lowered the toast to the table. "I know. You always have."

Naruto stood on training ground three with Kushina. It was eight o'clock in the evening, and the area was almost abandoned. She had demonstrated her chakra chains for Kushina for the first time, which had turned out to be one of Naruto's proudest moments in her life.

It was a little weird, because it wasn't like it was the first time Naruto used her chains, but she was demonstrating them for Kushina. Her mother. Even if Kushina didn't know that herself.

Anko was watching them practice together with Ensui and Iruka, who had come simply to watch Naruto's new technique. Shisui had disappeared early. He had chores to do and had skipped on dinner tonight too.

Kushina had been ecstatic when Naruto made four chains without too much trouble, and talked their ears off for the better part of half an hour before they continued training. Both teams were scheduled for missions in the morning, and meetings had to be squeezed into their time schedule.

"Next I want to try a chain fight." Kushina said in a matter of fact way.

"A chain fight?" Asked Naruto confused.

"Yes, I want to see how my chains react to yours. My chains freeze chakra flow, so there's a possibility they'll cancel out your chains, but it's still worth trying. Best case scenario I might be able to figure out what your chains can do." Kushina explained more in depth.

Naruto thought about it for half a second. "Alright! Let's do it!"

With renewed energy she got in position, but Kushina stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "Wait a moment, we can't be so close. You stand on that edge of the field, and I'll stay on the other side. That way we won't accidentally spear each other when the chains emerge." Kushina said teasingly while pointing out her position.

Naruto felt her cheeks heat up. "Of course… Sorry."

Kushina grinned and winked at her, before running to her end of the training ground.

"Okay? Set, ready, go!"

Large golden chains shot out from Kushina, towering over the training ground like strangely shaped kite dragons. "Whoooa." Anko said in awe from the sideline, while Ensui and Iruka nodded in approval.

It took more time for Naruto, she still needed time to gather herself, but after a few moments they finally shoot two chains out with a bit of trouble.

Her chains had very little direction, and nearly flew past the entire training field, past Kushina and into the forest behind her before she got control over them and reeled them in slightly.

Naruto bit her lip as she got them in position, her eyes trailing from the chains to Kushina studying her from across the field. Kushina gave her the thumbs up.

"Great, Naruto! Now I'll attack you. You'll try and get your chains free." Kushina shouted.

Naruto barely had time to nod before Kushina's chains started moving. They acted so swiftly Naruto could barely follow their movement as they circled around both her chains and wrapped around them tightly.

Naruto instantly felt it.

A chill accessed her through the exit point of her chains. Running through her ribs and outwards into her whole body. The chakra circulating through Kushina's chains felt like lead. Naruto knew her own chakra system was shot to hell, but through her chains she could read everything about Kushina's chakra.

It was like a deep ocean, heavy and filled with pressure. Crushing pressure. Much heavier and denser than Naruto's chakra. It was why her chakra system was stopping. Kushina's chakra was completely outweighing it with the use of her chains.

Naruto's chains burst. They no longer received chakra from Naruto, and as a result they evaporated into thin air.

Naruto swayed as her chakra system started up again, a rushing sensation bursting through her ears and making her light headed.

"Hmmm…." Kushina mused, walking slowly towards Naruto. "You react the same way most people do, but you lasted longer. Your chains must have some sort of defense to last for almost a minute without evaporating. Or maybe it's an Uzumaki thing."

"I… I could feel you." Naruto said astonished, staring at Kushina.

"Feel me?" Asked Kushina confused.

"Through your chains… I could… taste… feel… understand your chakra. It's so heavy…" Naruto muttered, not making much sense to herself or anyone else.

"You got a taste of my chakra through your chains?" Kushina's eyes widened, a smile growing on her face. "Interesting. Truly interesting. Tell me what you experienced."

"It was consuming. At first I felt really cold, because my chakra system was slowing down, but I could also feel - from your chains - how you… crushed...? My own chakra flow. How your chakra was weighing down my own. I didn't just feel my chakra stop, I understood why it was stopping."

"Are you saying you could read my chakra with your chains? You understood what they were doing? Why your own chakra system froze up?" Asked Kushina, clear excitement radiating from her while she spoke.

"I… think so?"

"Holy crap! Let's try again, dattebane! This is so exciting!"

Two hours later Naruto was in serious pain. Having her chakra system blocked and opened repeatedly was not a pleasant experience, and for each time it left her more and more exhausted. Her whole body felt sore.

"Come on, if you manage to walk to Ichiraku ramen stand on your own I'll treat you to a bowl." Ensui said encouragingly, smirking secretly while Anko repeatedly pushed Naruto forward for being so slow.

"I'm in pain, dattebayo." Naruto moaned, hissing when Anko forced her to take another step by pushing her shoulder.

"You did great, Naruto! This is the well-earned pain of training. It means you're doing it right." Iruka preached unhelpfully.

"I can't feel my fingers. I think Kushina-nee stopped my chakra circulation permanently in my left thumb!"

"Give it a night. Your chakra system just needs a little recovery time." Ensui promised and patted her shoulder.

"At least you found out what your chains do." Anko added, forcing Naruto onwards.

"A little too well. I think half the reason I'm so tired is because the chains intensify the experience. I both felt and understood how Kushina froze my chakra. It's not a walk in the park yah' know... It's like… being stabbed, and knowing exactly what muscles is being torn, how much blood you're losing, what the future damage is, and how exactly screwed you are. And you know it all the time, from the moment the kunai meets the skin until it's firmly embedded in your chest. You're constantly being bombarded with the information."

"That's… unusually morbid of you, Naruto." Ensui muttered and arched an eyebrow.

"It felt morbid." Naruto replied sourly.

"But this is a good thing, Naruto. Your chains are both offensive and defensive. All you really need to do is graze your chains against someone, and you'll have an understanding of how they work. You know how much chakra they have, what type of affinity they have, and that way you can plan how to react. You basically find out which way is most efficient to take down your opponent!" Ensui suggested happily.

"I know." Naruto huffed. Kushina had been just as eager about this ability, and was the main reason she kept Naruto at it for so long.

Kushina believed her chains was a type of sensors. They read everything about a person, in a parallel way to how the Hyūga could see chakra with their Byakugan. "I just wish Kushina-nee didn't have to push for so many test runs, it's not like she feels how her chains affect others, dattebayo."

"By the end of your training you managed to keep your chains activated for five minutes against Kushina sensei's chains. That means you were countering their effect." Iruka told Naruto and poked her arm. "You were reading sensei's chakra, and instinctively tried to break down what's attacked you with your chains. You'd be amazed how much simpler life is when you can counter and not just duck."

"It's been a while since we had a training session as a whole team, and not just going on mission." Anko said and looked around at her team. They'd just finished up training, where Orochimaru had drilled them with a new formation.

"It is. Missions have been taking up all our time these days." Naruto grumbled while putting on her jacket. It had been a warm day, and she'd abandoned it on the side of the field for the last couple of hours.

"I wish to show you something before you go." Orochimaru said and took out a book. The bingo book.

He turned the book open and started browsing through the pages. "This is Iwa's bingo book. Not long ago I acquired it during a mission. It's been updated recently."

He stopped at a page and turned it around to show his students. Naruto's eyes widened. It was her.

She read quickly the first few lines.

Village: Konoha

Name: Uzumaki Naruto.

Rank: Chūnin.

Threat level: B

She swallowed and stared up at Orochimaru. "That's a result of the battle two months ago. Many saw you in action, and you received a page in the book for it. You're not the only one either." He turned back a few pages, and Anko showed up.

Village: Konoha

Name: Mitarashi Anko

Rank: Chūnin.

Threat level: C+

"I'm less of a threat than Naruto?" She asked sourly, insulted by her listing.

"It's a good thing, Anko. You have a lower bounty on your head compared to Naruto. That means less people will try and hunt you down for a pay off." Shisui muttered while shallowly reading the page. "Of course… we're on her team, which means we'll probably be around if she's hunted down."

"We have Orochimaru as our sensei. He probably has a decent bounty on him already, and we've been fine so far." Naruto exclaimed and pointed to their sensei. Orochimaru frowned and ignored her comment.

"Another Konoha ninja was listed too." Orochimaru turned the book back even further, ending on the H-listing.

Village: Konoha

Name: Hatake Kakashi

Rank: Jōnin

Threat level: B-

"Naruto has a bigger bounty than both me and Kakashi?" Anko exclaimed furiously, snapping the book out of Orochimaru's hand while browsing the pages quickly.

"Naruto is very visible when she fights. Her attacks make a lot of noise and are extremely destructive. This doesn't surprise me at all. She uses B and A rank techniques like they're a supply of kunai." Shisui muttered while reading over Anko's shoulder.

"Why isn't Shisui in the bingo book?" Asked Naruto curiously. "Or is he?"

"No. Shisui fights smart. He doesn't gather attention with flashy attacks. He could teach you both about how to keep a low profile during battle." Orochimaru answered with a nod towards the Uchiha. Shisui grinned smartly to Naruto, who stuck her tongue back childishly.

"Wow… Your bounty is ridiculous sensei!" Anko exclaimed when she found Orochimaru's page.

The sannin smirked satisfied. "I've built quite a reputation over the years."

Shisui took the book from Anko and started browsing too. His eyes flying down page after page with his sharingan activated. "Huh..." Shisui looked up, biting his lip.

"What?" Asked Naruto curious, wondering what he'd read.

"Minato-sensei has a larger bounty than Orochimaru-sensei." Shisui told them quietly without looking up.

"What?" Anko and snapped the book back from Shisui. She whistled impressed. "He has the same threat level though. S+ threat. Why is his bounty larger when you have the same threat level?"

"Minato-san made a big dent in Iwa's army two months ago. This bingo book takes that into account." Orochimaru answered stiffly. "A year ago he was an S-."

It was obvious he didn't like being outdone by Minato. Even in something like this.

"Is that why Naruto's bounty is lower than other B rank threats?" Asked Anko while turning over a few pages, finding Naruto's listing again.

"Yes. She's young and hasn't done much yet. She was part of a large scale battle and took down many seasoned ninjas, which unluckily was noticed. All of you did, but Naruto does have a habit of making a spectacle of herself. The fact that you're my students doesn't do you any favors either." Orochimaru sighed and shook his head.

"Wait… look at that." Shisui said and pointed at Naruto's profile.

"What about it?" Asked Anko confused.

Shisui grinned and looked up at them. "That's kind of weird. All four of us are born in October." He told them vaguely.

"We are?" Asked Anko surprised. Looking at Shisui and Orochimaru in particular. She knew Naruto's birthday, but hadn't been informed of the others.

"Yeah… It says here Naruto is the tenth. I'm the nineteenth, Anko is the twenty fourth, and sensei is twenty seventh." He answered while turning the pages of the bingo book while Anko held it.

"So you're the youngest, Shisui. Nine days younger than Naruto. What a pity it is to be the baby of the team. And you're not even seen as a threat by Iwa…" Anko taunted him, Shisui's eyes narrowed but he didn't take the bait.

They weren't big on celebrating birthdays. Maybe before the war, but for the last few years it was regularly a private affair, and Naruto had never heard mention of when Shisui's or Orochimaru's birthday was. She hadn't asked either, but then Shisui hadn't asked any of them either.

"Hey!" Anko exclaimed suddenly, looking between them with a mischievous grin. "We can celebrate our birthday together. Have a shared party."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at Anko's sarcastic comment. "You don't have time for parties, Anko. Try to focus on what's important. You two have bounties on your head now. That's not a good thing. It means you lack discretion. From now on you're to train stealth, Shisui can give you some pointers and I hope you'll take them to heart. Iwa hates protégées. Your age makes them eager to take you out before you gain experience."

"Telling Naruto to keep low is like asking the sun to not rise." Shisui muttered while reading Naruto's profile by prying the book out of Anko's hands.

"I can be sneaky, dattebayo."

Anko snorted and shook her head.

"They don't have a complete list of your abilities..." Shisui mumbled under his breath, quickly checking out of their conversation while he read.

"You're as discrete as an explosion tag, Naruto. You need more training in stealth. Remember Tsunade's Retrieval mission?" Orochimaru commented while putting his weight on his right foot.

"...Wind release - C and B rank ninjutsu. Unknown jutsu (signature technique of Namikaze Minato) – A rank ninjutsu.." Shisui continued listing up in the background.

"Hey! I got the job done. Sometimes stealth isn't the solution, dattebayo." Naruto replied, her cheeks heating up in tune with her temper. She'd done a really good job on Tsunade's Retrieval mission. She'd gotten the job done quickly and efficiently. Why would he bring that up? He hadn't commented about it before.

"…. why do they believe you can do fire release? They must have mixed us up, Naruto. We used a combination attack with wind and fire, and they seem to think it was your technique. It's listed as an A rank..." Shisui murmured to himself.

Anko stood amused next to him, her eyes dancing between her teammates.

Orochimaru was chuckling at Naruto's argument. "There's a risk factor involved, Naruto. Doing a mission quickly isn't the same as doing it safely."

"… there's a mention of you chakra chains. Unranked though. How do they know about that? You didn't use them during the battle..."

Naruto waved her hands wildly up and down frustrated. "I had complete control!"

"… and the picture of you. Where did they get a picture of you?" Finished Shisui, looking up from the bingo book to see Orochimaru and Naruto staring daggers at one another.

Going home from training Shisui was deep in thoughts, not unusual, but still annoying when Naruto was trying to talk to him. "Shisui!"

"Huh?" He mumbled absent mindedly, his thoughts still a mile away.

"You're not listening to a word I say." Naruto complained and pushed his shoulder to show how distracted he was.

Shisui smiled fleetingly. "I was. You were talking about dinner, but I'm sorry. I can't join you today."

"Why not?" Asked Anko and folded her hands. "You've bailed on dinner a lot these days, and last week you weren't home when we stopped by your house. Have you found some news friends that you're hiding from us?"

Shisui chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, I was training."

"How would you know? I didn't say which day we came by." Anko replied suspiciously.

"No, but I've been training a lot, so most likely you stopped by either Tuesday or Thursday." Shisui answered and grinned widely when Anko scowled. Naruto pursed her lips and studied Shisui, noticing his tired appearance. He did seem a tired these days. Maybe he didn't sleep that well, though he wouldn't be the only one.

"You look tired, Shisui… What exactly are you training for? We could train together you know. We were going to the training ground that day and you're free to join you know."

"Yeah, you might have forgotten, but we're teammates and all." Anko added and rolled her eyes.

Shisui smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I have some stuff going on."

Naruto tilted her head. "Clan stuff?"

Shisui looked thoughtful for a moment. "That too, but in general… just forget about it. I'll tell you when I'm finished."

"With what?" Naruto was using her most insistent tone, tugging at Shisui's sleeve while she did.

"Not now, but it's nothing to worry about." Shisui tried to reassure them.

"You know… I wasn't curious before, but now I am. What the hell are you up to Shisui?"

"Nothing!" Shisui replied exasperated.

"Liar. When do you have time though? We'll have dinner at our place, and you have to show up. No mission or training excuses." Naruto insisted and poked him at the side of the head.

In return she got a very annoyed glance. "I'll check my schedule, but I'm sure we can find a day."

"And then you can tell us what you're up to!" Anko said and snapped her fingers.

Shisui sighed and shook his head. "Stop nagging, I said I'd tell you later," Flashing them a smile he waved quickly. "And now I have to go."

He was gone half a second later. Using the sunshin to get away. "That is so annoying!" Naruto shouted and pointed at the empty spot Shisui had been standing.

Anko nodded in agreement. "And he's getting good at the sunshin… He didn't even use leafs to hide where he disappeared to."

Kakashi had become almost a constant fixture during meals except when he was on mission. They all had a busy schedule, but Kakashi was the only one amongst their friends who was jōnin. As a jōnin he was given more responsibility, he had more guard duty, more reports to fill out and usually less time.

But today he had managed to show up for dinner for the first time that week with Rin, Genma and Gai had tagging along. They had even managed to get Shisui to join them too, which was a small miracle considering how busy their schedules were and how hard it was to find a shared time when none of them were busy.

Naruto loved having guests for dinner though. It was not something she'd done often with her old friends in the future, instead they had always gone out, but for some reason that wasn't as common in this time.

Instead Anko was put on cooking duty and Naruto gathered in a large enough crowd to annoy her roommate. Though she was sure that if Anko really disliked these dinner gatherings she would have put her foot down a long time ago. Instead Naruto was given a grocery list with way too much food to go shopping for, which meant Anko was up for a larger crowd for dinner. It was tradition by now to do this at least once every two weeks.

The only downside was the weather. Winter was upon them and the heating system in their flat was faulty, which left their home freezing. This was hardly the first time this occurred, so Naruto and Anko had a stack of blankets for everyone to use, and despite the low temperatures they managed to have a great time.

That was until the lights went out though.

It was the third time that evening, and left them all frustrated. The fuse box was located in the basement, which got annoying when they had to run down to turn the switch on again, daily.

"Oh, not again!" Naruto moaned and threw her arms up in the air.

Kakashi was looking curiously around. "Ma' whomever goes down can you turn on the switch in my apartment too? When the lights go off so often up here it usually means my apartment is without lights too."

"Naru and I busted our asses making this dinner and inviting you all, so I think it's time for one of our guests to go again!" Anko suggested, meaning every word. She wasn't aiming on becoming host of the year anytime soon.

"Oh, do we have to? It's a little neat with the lights off." Rin said and giggled at the sceptic look Naruto sent her. "Don't you have candles? We can light them, or we can make do with the street light outside."

"Nah, we don't have candles, and try going to the bathroom in this light. You can't see your hand even if you wave it in front of your face, dattebayo." Naruto answered.

"Fine, let's see…. Who hasn't gone in a while? Genma? Can't you go this time?" Kakashi said and pointed to the boy next to him.

"No, let the pretty one do it. I'm freezing and I was running up and down the stairs last time I was here too." Genma whined and gestured in the direction of Anko.

Anko raised an eyebrow before peeking at her teammates. "I'm sorry, but Shisui ran down an hour ago. It wouldn't be fair to have him do it twice in a row." Anko shot back without missing a beat.

Genma stiffened, while the others started laughing. Naruto clapped her hand over her mouth at the glare Shisui sent her.

"Hey!" Shisui exclaimed indignantly.

"What? You're the pretty one in our team, Shisui. I would kill to have eyelashes like yours. And your big eyes! You must be deadly at the puppy eye no jutsu." Anko taunted and winked at Shisui flirtatiously, her perfectly innocent smile sending shivers down everyone's spine.

The Uchiha blushed and moved away from her quickly.

Naruto was laughing so hard she was clutching her stomach while Shisui was growing more and more red. "Shut up! I'm not pretty!" Shisui stated with narrowed eyes.

"Oooh, and you have such a killer heated look. You must have broken a lot of hearts in the academy. Such a pretty boy. Such a beauty." Anko continued, making Genma crack up too along with Gai and Rin.

"Stop! Just stop! I'm not pretty or a beauty!" Shisui growled with fury.

"Why are you getting angry? I'm complimenting you, Shisui-kun. It's a shame you're just a kid. I wish you were older than me, and then I would totally have dated you." Anko said in a matter of fact, twirling a strand of dark hair around her finger.

Naruto actually rolled over on her stomach at this point. Rin was the one with most composure after Anko, and even she was shaking with repressed laugher.

"Wh- what? I'd never go out with you! You're old and scary! You're… Anko!" Shisui almost squealed.

"You don't like older girls then? I get it… Saving yourself for Naru, huh?" Anko continued casually. Naruto was drying her eyes from laughing too hard, and Shisui had turned a uniform pink down to his neck.

"No! I'm not saving anything for anyone, I don't want a girlfriend! Stop saying weird stuff!" Shisui answered and looked close to storming off.

Anko finally started laughing herself, which resulted in everyone except Shisui to laugh harder than before. "You are so naive, Shisui! This is just too easy." Anko started cackling and leaned back on the couch, crossing her legs while grinning mischievously.

"You are mean." Muttered Shisui and folded his arms.

"Oh, lighten up." Anko said between chuckles. Shisui was still annoyed and turned away. "I don't mean to tease you Shisui, I just call them as I see them." She continued, but then started getting a hold of herself. "I'm sorry though. I'll stop now."

"I'll go and turn the switch on." Shisui stated, using any excuse to get away as quickly as possible.

"Okay, but I'm sorry okay?" Anko continued, looking seriously at Shisui. His tense shoulders slumped and he nodded, a scowl still on his lips but less uncomfortable.

"Good, thanks. I didn't mean to upset you or anything." Anko said apologetically.

Shisui paused in his track and smiled easily. "No worries." He said and was already turning away when Anko spoke up again.

"Great, but you know where the switch is right?"

"Yes, I was there just an hour ago." Shisui replied pointedly.

"No, I mean mine. You can always turn my switch on anytime you like, Shisui. Just flip your hair. It's amazing you know? What shampoo do you use to get it so shiny and wavy? I'd die to have hair like yours." Anko said evilly.

Shisui actually growled and stormed off. Everyone's laugher following him down the stairs.

Kakashi arrived late to the factory hall again, but only by ten minutes. He hurried when his sensei waved him forwards. "Alright boys, now that we're all here I think we should try again. We have two complete teams…"

Kakashi quickly apologized and sat down in his designated circle. Shisui, Genma and himself made up one team, while the others had their own. They always switched who teamed up, trying to figure out who was better suited together for the task.

It was the most difficult jutsu Kakashi had ever seen. It was more intricate than he even imagined possible, but Minato was confident some of them would get it down eventually. The question was just who.

"You're too spent, Kakashi. Try to relax." Muttered Minato silently.

Kakashi took a deep breath and tried to quench the tension he felt from being late. It worked to some extent, but his frustration was still palpable in his body. He continued breathing deeply until nothing worried him anymore. He was closer to meditating than relaxing.

"Good… A clear mind is the key. There can't be doubt and there can't be distractions. You have too many variables to concentrate on to let anything get in the way." Minato's low voice echoed through the hall.

Kakashi opened his eyes. Now that he was relaxed he focused on his chakra again. He needed to catch up to where Genma and Shisui had reached while he was late.

Minato was making sure the Hiraishin lived on even if something happened to him. It had taken Minato years of study and training to improve on the Second Hokage's technique, but he wished to make the journey less frustrated for the next users.

The war had made him see that nothing was for certain, and he'd handpicked students who showed promise in certain areas.

They were six in total, who all were talented with ninjutsu, had good chakra control, were fast, and most importantly had a good mind for multitasking.

A certain level of intelligence was the key to understand the fuinjutsu seal, but so was to have a sense of artistry. It was the latter Kakashi couldn't get a grasp of. If logic was the ingredients of the Hiraishin, than the artistry was the binding keeping them together.

So far Genma and Shisui excelled at the exercises they'd been put through. Kakashi's main problem was his chakra, he had problems with the exchange flow, which the other two boys didn't. On the other hand he understood what was being done. He just had problems doing it.

Genma was still unsure about the bigger picture, and took it step by step, hoping they would all make sense when they arrived at the finish line.

Shisui got it, his Sharingan gave him the same advantage Kakashi had, but knowing what to do and doing it was two very different things. They still had a long way to go.

After fifteen minutes of silence Minato spoke up again. "Good work, I think you're ready to begin. Let's do a test run."

A few weeks later Naruto went to the graveyard alone. She had just finished guard duty for the night but didn't feel sleepy yet, and decided to stop by the memorial stone before going home.

She had been snacking most of the night, passing the time with Choza who had shared his bags of chips. Together they'd gone through numerous bags while sharing their more enjoyable mission stories, and by now Naruto was feeling nauseous from overeating.

It would pass soon enough, her bed was waiting at home, and the stomach ache would pass by the time she woke up. It always did.

Naruto hadn't been at the cemetery since Obito's funeral, and felt guilty for her lack of visits. They were busy, but that wasn't the reason she hadn't stopped by. She hadn't wanted to. Naruto didn't want to read the new inscribed name on the stone. She hadn't been ready yet.

It was a cool morning, but still pleasant. When she arrived at the graveyard it was in full activity. Birds were flocking around the trees and the wind rustled up the trees and made the branches creek. The place was uncharacteristically alive for a place dedicated to the dead.

The memorial stone was occupied when she arrived. Kushina, Minato, Rin and Kakashi were already there.

"Hey." Kushina said when she spotted Naruto.

"Good morning." Naruto replied and came up to stand next to her. "You're all here..."

Naruto wasn't sure how often they visited the stone, but it seemed an odd coincidence that all of them had decided to come at the same time.

"Yeah. We're going on a mission soon, we'll be gone for a couple of weeks, and today it's exactly three months since he died." Kakashi replied quietly, pointing to Obito's name engraved into the spotless marble.

Uchiha Obito

The name was placed high on the bottom half on the stone, together with other names on all sides. All who had fallen in battle. The memorial stone had all the names of people who had died protecting the village. The fallen heroes of Konoha, and with Obito there had been no body to bury, and therefore no grave.

"I came along with Minato. I wanted to come too. I haven't been here much..." Kushina added, smiling sadly while looking at the stone. "I wonder what he'd be doing if he was here."

"Probably be asleep. He was always late." Naruto replied, earning a chuckle from all of them.

Minato turned towards Naruto, putting his hand on her shoulder. He did that often. "I haven't had the opportunity to talk to you lately. But I hope you're okay..." He trailed off softly.

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking." She answered and waved her hand dismissively. Looking back at the memorial stone she felt her stomach turn again. "I haven't had the opportunity to say this before, you're always so busy. But I'm so, so sorry about Obito."

"Yeah..." Minato muttered and looked at the stone too. His hand fell away from her shoulder, cold wind cooling the spot his hand had warmed earlier.

Naruto read the other names on the stone, finding a few more Uchiha and Akimichi not far away from Obito's name. She'd never really taken the time to study this stone before. Just briefly. She'd never taken in the hundreds of names littering the surface.

She looked further up, her eyes pausing on one specific name.

Aburame Shibi.

Naruto's brow furrowed. There was that name again… Shibi… Where had she heard that before?

It was a few years ago wasn't it? Minato and Kakashi had seen him die. But there was more… She must have met him in the future or something, because the name made her stomach uneasy.

Aburame Shibi. Naruto read the name a few more times.

Maybe Shino had introduced her to a relative? He was an Aburame, but there was more than one Aburame on this memorial stone, why did his name pop out in such contrast to the others?

Shino… Shibi…

Naruto's eyes widened. Her breath caught in her throat, and her vision blurred from lack of moisture when she stopped blinking. Her crisp filled stomach twist painfully, and she felt the need to cover her mouth to not start throwing up.

It was Shino's father. Aburame Shibi.

She had never met him. Naruto had only heard his name through Shino and her friends. But he was dead. Had been for years, and Naruto hadn't noticed.

No… This couldn't be right… No, no, no, no.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" Rin asked in concern as she noticed her quickly paling face.

Naruto only managed to get a few steps away before she retched. Her stomach emptying on the rich, green grass in front of Konoha's Memorial Stone.

.

.

.

To be continued...