Naruto, though seemingly focused on his task of organizing a box of scrolls taken from the basements of the Hokage Tower and rearranging them on the Hokage's own personal shelves, only had mind for the two young ANBU bowed before Minato just a few feet behind. He could practically feel Kakashi's gaze seeping through the back of his skull but didn't dare turn. Not now, not after the other day when Kakashi lied terribly about just how much conversation he overheard between Jiraiya and Naruto. 

"I am assigning an S-level assassination," Minato announced to the men--boys, rather, as neither one was older than 15--knelt on the floor before him. Naruto returned his focus momentarily to the scrolls, placing them alphabetically on the shelf, sliding them between the existing scrolls in his father's archive. He had no interest in the details of the mission, his mind could only think about Kakashi's and Kushina's suspicions as of late, and the lack of confrontation from Minato.

Was he avoiding the topic because he knew or was the genius Minato Namikaze, Fourth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, really oblivious to Naruto's identity? Perhaps his silence was a tactic, or perhaps he was waiting to get more information from him.

After the ANBU left the office swiftly, Naruto turned to Minato with furrowed brows.

"Should you really be sending them on an S-ranked assassination?" he muttered, if only to direct his own whirring thoughts elsewhere. Though it did concern him, the severity of the missions he was sending such young boys on, ANBU or not. "Didn't Kakashi just lose his teammates?"

The other man avoided the first question by expanding on the latter. "Less than two months ago."

"Are you sure this is the right thing to do for him?" Naruto asked, pushing off the floor and leaving the unsorted box open in front of the shelves.

"Do elaborate."

"Just... his ANBU missions... maybe hey should be suspended for a while. Give him a chance to mourn." Naruto regretted it immediately after he said it. It was not his place to worry about Kakashi Hatake in the past. The young ANBU should mean nothing to him. But still, the facts remained. Kakashi was miserable and anyone with eyes could see that--fate was not everybody's friend. Kakashi's life turned out less than desirable, to say the least. Naruto knew this, but still found it hard to stomach. He never could wrap his mind around the whole 'why do bad things happen to good people?' question. Kakashi was the perfect example of that statement, nearly every aspect of his life being stacked against him in terms of supernatural favour. Some people really don't deserve what they get, so how could things be finite? Things shouldn't  be as finite as they were, especially when it comes to Kakashi's circumstances.

Naruto's eyes snapped back to Minato, finally drifting out of deep thought.

Minato did not press Naruto on the matter. 

"I assigned him to ANBU because he was mourning. He needed a distraction."

He knew he should have stopped arguing, but still felt the words roll off his tongue. "And Jonin missions wouldn't suffice?" Perhaps because he cared for Kakashi Hatake. He couldn't help but worry. His teacher didn't exactly turn out great in the future, what with his unbreakable porn-book addiction and lack of emotion. 

"What's with the sudden intrigue?" Minato drawled as he came around his desk. Naruto tapped his finger uncomfortably on his thigh in an anxious pattern. He avoided the Fourth's all-knowing eyes.

"I-he just seems so... cold." A half-truth at best. He was always cold, even in the future. It really wasn't a surprise to Naruto that his sensei was this way as a young teenager.

"Kakashi has never really been the warm type, Naruto. Trust me when I say ANBU has been good for him. The distraction keeps him sane, keeps him focused, however harsh it may be," Minato spoke confidently, though some form of sadness or pain or regret edged in his voice. Even the renowned Fourth Hokage couldn't hide this burden.

Naruto took the opening and pushed his father further, "Maybe a little too focused."

The other furrowed his brows, examining Naruto with curious blue eyes. Reading him. Naruto held his tongue, knowing he'd gone too far. Meddled too much. Said things he shouldn't have even known about. He shouldn't know anything about Kakashi other than his recent loss of his teammates and cold nature, so why would he be so concerned for the boy? Minato's eyes said it all. The suspicion loomed, filling the air with thick tension. Suddenly, Naruto found it hard to breathe.

To Naruto relief, he didn't push the subject but he knew by the way his father looked at him just then that he knew something. What he knew--the true extent of his knowledge--Naruto could not tell. Minato was so good at reading people yet so good at hiding his own wisdom. Perhaps that was a tactic too. A humble genius, Naruto had originally thought. But this man was more than that. He was an actor, perfect at hiding his own heart. Perfectly portraying himself as the man he needed to be in any given situation.

"Kushina told me about yesterday's... incident."

Naruto's heart started racing just then, and he was sure his face betrayed him, revealing his fear plain as day. Minato softened, beckoning him to sit.

"She said you healed instantly," the Hokage continued, voice soft and unassuming yet strong and assertive. 

"I did--I- I do."

"It's just interesting to me because you didn't mention it before."

Naruto felt his ears get hot, a flush of embarrassment taking over. "Maa, well, I didn't think to mention it, ya know. Didn't think it was that important."

"Is that so?" Minato muttered as he got up from his desk and took confident steps to his coffee station. He began pouring himself a cup. "Want some?"

Naruto could barely keep his breakfast down right now, let alone think about consuming something more. Even the smell of the strong liquid made his stomach turn. "No thanks."

"Naruto, I want us to be transparent with each other," the Fourth Hokage spoke clearly as he returned to the desk with his mug, steaming and strong. "I know I don't have any Namikaze cousins. I've known you aren't who you say you are since the day I met you."

Somehow, and quite opposite to the fear ringing in his head and stomach, Naruto wished Minato would keep talking. I know you're my son, he somehow wished he'd say. That way, Naruto wouldn't have to be the one to say it. Wouldn't have to carry that fault. "I'm not trying to betray your trust, I just-"

But Minato cut him off, "-I'm not completely oblivious Naruto. You and I, we have a striking resemblance, don't you think?"

"Well, yes..." Naruto affirmed, short and to the point. His voice spoke no emotion, more monotonous and un-telling than a brick wall. Though his eyes perhaps betrayed him, as they usually did. Especially around the master-mind-reader that was his father. He wondered for a moment if Minato got that from his own sensei, the Pervy Sage, who was also adept at reading people, or if he was just always like that.

"And the way the Nine Tails stirs when you're around," he continued, to Naruto's chagrin. "Kushina's never experienced anything like it. And the quick healing." Minato was standing now, unable to stay seated.

"I don't think we should discuss this anymore," Naruto muttered, avoiding the other man's eyes.

Minato took a deep breath, taking a hearty sip of his black coffee. Naruto blamed the smell of the strong liquid on his pounding head and quenching stomach, even though his stomach was quenching even before the coffee was brewed.

"What are you doing here, Naruto?" Minato's face drawled into a stern, grim glare, one completely void of breathing room. Naruto could feel the heavy weight threatening to suffocate him. He thought for a moment that his father would have made a great Interrogation shinobi, in another life. In one much less humble and open. Perhaps if he'd grown up cold, like Kakashi did.

He looked up at the Fourth Hokage then, the words itching at the back of his throat, begging to come out, screaming to be said. But he knew better than to tell the whole truth, even though somehow, he knew his father must know it already.

For a moment much too long for Naruto's liking, the question hung in the air. Even if he had the guts to answer it, the truth was that Naruto didn't know the answer. So he answered the question truthfully. "I don't know."

But Minato was not satisfied. He wanted the whole story. He read into the other blonde's ocean blue eyes and could see that he was hiding something. Naruto counted his breaths, a method to ground himself, to focus on anything but his hammering heart and racing thoughts, as Minato stood in silence with eyes soft and patience abundant. 

The whole truth was pushing at the back of his throat, wanting nothing more than to fly off his tongue. Naruto had been concocting the words to say for the last week, ever since he arrived in the past. Even if he never planned to ever tell them, he'd still thought long and hard about them. And they still pressed to be said, even if they may never be.

"It was an accident," he finally admitted with a voice void of feeling, the whole truth dying and retreating back behind a barricade before it could even be spoken. If Minato was gonna use his Hokage face, so would Naruto. 

The admission gave him only a small sense of relief. The issue still hung over him, weighing on his shoulders. The fragility of time. The ever present problems that come with changing the past and subsequently the future. 

He was sure he'd already changed things, just by being here. All the people he'd met, the ones who'd already put the pieces together about his identity, namely the Pervy Sage and Kakashi. The ones who were close to having all the pieces, Minato and Kushina. And the longer he was in the past, the more things could change without Naruto even realizing. The knot grew tighter in his stomach.

Was it even worth the secrecy? Would it be better to just come clean?

Minato flinched, exiting his own mind space and stepping back, falling into his chair with a sigh. Neither man would budge, both equally stubborn as the other.

"I'm sorry for pressing this matter," the Fourth Hokage droned rather insincerely. 

"I would have done the same, if I were in your position." I would have done the same, as Hokage, to keep my village and my family safe. He wasn't all that different from his father, he realized. Not nearly as different as he'd spent the last decade assuming. Naruto wondered how many other ways they were the same. He ached for that knowledge. Ached for that severed connection to be formed, but knew it would never be possible. Not if he was going to accomplish what he needed to accomplish here in the past, for the benefit of the future. "I'm sure you already know a lot more than either of us is letting on, and I'm sure you know it's not entirely for the best that you know. Do you get what I'm getting at here?" 

The other blonde glared deeply into matching blue eyes. "Yes, Naruto, I get what you're getting at. It doesn't mean I'm okay with it."

"You don't have to be. You just have to trust me."

Minato scoffed, which surprised Naruto a bit. Another side of his father he'd never yet seen, one less gentle, "Trust you. Trust the man who lied to me, came into my home and village, lied about his identity."

"You would have done the same thing," Naruto reminded him gently. "To protect the future."

The words hung vulnerable in the air for a moment, strange to both men's ears. This was the first time either man had spoken this concept out loud with the other present. The one they'd tip-toed so carefully around, the one they'd avoided like a wildfire before this moment.

"Yes," Minato finally admitted with a sigh.

"I need you to stay out of things if this is gonna work. Believe me when I say I have no intention of causing harm," Naruto announced methodically, begging but also strong in his words. "You have my word, and I never go back on my word."

Indeed, Naruto had considered the consequences of telling Minato about his plans to change major events on the timeline, but was sure he'd have something to say about that. In this moment, Naruto had to hold firm to his plan. He felt rather bitter about the whole matter--a man who died before a son could know his father should have no say in how that son lives his life. Naruto felt he deserved that opinion, at least, after a childhood and lifetime of loneliness. One subjected to identity struggle and pain of being a jinchuriki. 

With a heavy breath, Minato fiddled with his coffee mug, now cold. "Fine. But other than things relating to the future, I want honesty from this point forward," the Fourth Hokage demanded half-heartedly. A rare form of defeat fell upon the man's face just then. Naruto never thought of his father as a man to be defeated by anything. 

Minato knew in his heart that the honesty he demanded would only be so true if Naruto really did keep his word. If Naruto were to do the right thing.

"Of course," the other echoed, an accepted lie by both men. One that was necessary for this agreement to work out. Naruto furrowed his brows, feeling bad for his father in that moment, still taken back by the defeated look looming over the geniuses features. "Let's start with a little piece of truth, then. I need your help." This was far from a lie, and both men knew it. The weight on Minato's shoulder lifted a bit at that, relieved to finally move away from such a tightrope of a conversation.

"Shoot."

Naruto told him everything he could about the incident with the Flying Thunder God jutsu, leaving out unnecessary details of the future despite his deep desire to share them, including Minato and Kushina's lack of existence. Though, he could tell by the dreadful look on his father's face that he already knew that detail. He'd already put those pieces together long ago, as any genius would. Still, it would remain one of the many things unspoken between the two men.

"...so, eventually, I need to find a way to get back to my timeline. And you're the best chance I have, since it was your jutsu that got me here in the first place."

Minato nodded, brows furrowed deeply in thought as he glanced back and forth at nothing in particular. Eyes glazed over, mind racing. Finally, after several minutes of complete silence but for the occasional footsteps outside the office doors, Minato looked up and met his son's eyes.

"I know someone better at seeing every flaw and potential outcome than even myself. I think he would be quite useful if I let him in on this information. His brain is invaluable," Minato said, eyes begging Naruto to agree to this one request. "Just one man, but I swear he's loyal as they come and his ears will be the only ears to hear it."

But Naruto didn't need to be persuaded, and Minato didn't need to wait for permission from the other man to confirm what both men were thinking. "Shikaku Nara," Naruto stated with a curt nod.

* * *

Shikamaru Nara was no stranger to documents. In fact, most of his life now was consumed by official documents as the Nanadaime's and Rodudaime's assistant. The man never paid much attention in the ninja academy during their unit on documents but it didn't matter. Within just a few hours, the Nara had been able to master every type of scroll and document and form in the ninja world. No matter how lazy he often was, his mind was beyond capable of adept understanding, much more adept than many other shinobi his equal. Especially Sasuke Uchiha. Shikamaru smirked to himself as Sasuke glared at the half-translated Flying Thunder God technique with a rather dumb look on his face. 

"It's only complicated because Naruto translated it. His handwriting is horrible," Sasuke grunted when he noticed Shikamaru smirking. 

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Hm."

Kakashi was much too busy digging through the rest of the old cardboard box of the Fourth Hokage's things to care about the two men quietly insulting each other. He'd never gone through this box, surprisingly. Even after Minato-Sensei died, he neglected it completely, leaving it to gather dust in that old fishing shed. Naruto was probably the first to open it in nearly 30 years, which could explain why everything was so well maintained. Though, Kakashi still didn't understand why the mice didn't take an interest. Perhaps Minato cast a jutsu on the box, to keep the mice out. It certainly wouldn't be out of his realm of expertise, with his masterful skill in sealing jutsu. 

"So you place a seal on your opponent, and essentially reverse summon yourself to that seal. Or, as the Yondaime often did, throw a sealed kunai and teleport to it," Shikamaru explained with a grin, as Sasuke grunted with his arms crossed. Sasuke was less than pleased to be treated like an ignorant child right now, but knew it was important to know if they were to ever find a way to get Naruto back.

Kakashi twirled one of the sealed kunai around his finger with never-forgotten skill, throwing it toward a bookcase on the other side of the room and smirking when it split the wood and lodged itself nicely. 

"But how the hell did Naruto teleport through the fabric of time?" Sasuke droned, still scanning through the idiot's failed translation. Shikamaru chuckled as if the answer was obvious, which set Sasuke even more on edge. The Uchiha held his ground, resisting the urge to Amaterasu the other man to oblivion. 

"Flying Thunder God is a time-space fuinjutsu to begin with. Except it's a fuinjutsu combined with a reverse summon. To teleport, the user must enter a dimensional void, much like you do with your Rinnegan." Sasuke pretended to care less but took interest nonetheless, allowing the Nara to continue lecturing him. "It can also be used to transport objects instantly, by casting them into that dimensional void and opening the void somewhere else."

"Like a portal," Sasuke muttered. Exactly like the portals he used to travel places instantly with his Rinnegan.

"Like a portal minus the portal. The user's own body becomes the summon and they can reverse summon themselves to a sealing formula anywhere."

Kakashi examined the brush stroked formulas on every kunai. Every formula was unique, different than all the others. It was amazing Minato-Sensei managed to keep track of them all. "How does the user choose which seal they're transported to?" Kakashi muttered.

Shikamaru unrolled the original Flying Thunder God scroll and skimmed his fingers over some of the paragraphs, eyes searching up and down the pages. "Here," he pointed. "Each seal contains a small amount of chakra and the user matches that chakra during their release of the jutsu to transport to the designated seal."

"So extreme control is a requirement," Sasuke muttered.

"Something Naruto tends to lack," Kakashi added.

A knock on the doors snapped all three men out of their puzzling. 

"Lord Rodudaime," a masked ANBU said as he bowed immediately upon entering the room. Sasuke immediately recognized him as one of the higher-up ANBU captains. "The Nanadaime's presence is being requested at a meeting with the other Kage, what should I tell them?"

Before Kakashi could even answer--before Kakashi could even think of an answer, for that matter--Shikamaru stepped forward, "Tell them the Nanadaime will be unable to attend. Say no more, and if they ask questions, do not answer. We need more time."

Without another word, and without questioning the authority of Shikamaru Nara, the ANBU captain bowed and promptly left the room. The three remaining men turned to each other.

"I'll get to work on this scroll," Shikamaru muttered, grabbing the box and it's contents and heading toward the office doors. Before he left, he paused at the doorway. "I'd like it if that old shed could be blocked off. Not wise to have anyone lurking around there."

"I'll order it," Kakashi assured. 

Sasuke, as if suddenly feeling all the exhaustion of the last few weeks at once, slumped and lazily motioned to the Rokudaime, "I'm going home for a bit. You know where to find me."

Sasuke finally came home, to Sakura and Sarada's great delight. He offered only a small smile--though well meaning--before passing out and falling into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Swayed by his heavy heart, Naruto came to his first concrete conclusion since coming to the past. He would save his parents. At the very least, he would do that. The weight of holding the future in his hands was heavy, but his aching heart was far, far heavier.

He'd decide on the rest of the future later. Namely, he'd focus on eliminating the rest of the Akatsuki after he'd dealt with Obito and Madara. 

His assigned missions became more and more, though less complicated. He wondered if Minato did this on purpose, to allow him to get his other un-official tasks done. Nobody questioned why Naruto took much longer than necessary to deliver some scrolls or collect intel on another village. Not even the young Kakashi Hatake questioned the blonde's extended leaves from the village.

In just a few weeks, Naruto was able to concoct a semi-decent plan. Deciding it would be wasted time searching for Obito Uchiha when he was assumed dead and nowhere to be found, he came up with a plan to intercept Obito on the one night he knew for sure where the boy would be--October 10th. The night of his birth. 

He would let Obito come to him.

But there were some preparations that needed to be made. Naruto realized it would be near impossible to convince the young man with a heart cloaked in darkness to change his ways, especially if he were taking the word of a complete stranger. And he couldn't exactly tell Obito he was a time-traveller. He didn't know much about Obito Uchiha--only that he was Kakashi's fallen teammate and, according to Kakashi-Sensei, very similar to young Naruto in terms of temperament. And if that were true, Obito would most definitely tell everyone in sight that Naruto was from the future. That or just not believe him. Either way, Naruto would absolutely not risk his entire plan on an idiotic kid with a tendency to blabber-mouth.

So he had to convince Obito to destroy Madara and help prevent the nine-tail's attack some other way than telling him the consequences of it. And Naruto decided the best way to do that was to drag Obito out of his darkness--he just had to figure out the root of the problem, and Kakashi-Sensei had never been particularly detailed when it came to talking about Obito, even in his older years post-war. It seemed to be a touchy subject.

The young ANBU with voluminous silver hair stood against the wall of the ANBU headquarters hallway, arms crossed in a don't speak to me or I'll chidori your heart out of your chest type of fashion. He was less than pleased that the older blonde man had intercepted him on his way home after back-to-back missions. 

Kakashi didn't particularly like Naruto--mainly because he saw him as a threat and didn't understand why Minato-Sensei wasn't locking him up and interrogating him--but the Yondaime had ordered him to leave the man to his life and treat him with respect, and Kakashi Hatake of the ANBU Black Ops would always follow orders.

"It's just lunch--and I already told you I'd pay."

"I have no interest in spending any time with you apart from the Hokage's orders." Just because he had to be respectful to the man didn't mean he had to hang out with him outside of any missions they were assigned. Kakashi tightened his already folded arms, making them ache even more. 

"Minato already agreed that you should take a short break from your missions," Naruto continued to press. "Besides, free food is free food."

"I don't like food. Free or not."

Naruto knew that was a lie. He'd seen adult Kakashi devour five entire bowls of ramen in one sitting, and all without even taking that damned mask off.

"Fine," Naruto grunted. "I'll just have Minato assign me on another mission with you-"

"Fine, I'll cook."

Naruto's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He knew the threat would make the boy contemplate--even Kakashi could see the leverage blonde had on the Yondaime--but never expected such a sudden answer. And for Kakashi to offer to cook? 

Naruto wondered for a moment if the young ANBU was trying to get a reaction out of him.

"Follow me to my house."

"What?" Naruto was trying his best to act normal but couldn't hide his bewilderment. 

"I'm giving you what you want, and having dinner with you," the silver-haired nin grunted. "But I'm exhausted from back-to-back missions, and I really just want to go home."

"You cook?" Naruto uttered, trying hard to hide a teasing smirk. Trying, but failing.

Kakashi huffed as he shouldered past the man. "A bit. Don't act so surprised," he said to the air as he walked away from Naruto. Naruto caught up and walked alongside Kakashi who pretended not to notice him.

"How long have you been cooking for?"

"A bit." A vague, but expected answer. Kakashi kept his head forward and face void of emotion.

"How did you learn?"

"I've read some cookbooks."

Naruto nearly lost it but kept it together for the sake of pushing the conversation forward. He needed to learn more about Obito if his plans were going to work and the only way to do that was through the one who truly knew him best.

"Do you read cookbooks a lot? I've never seen you read one, since I got here that is."

Kakashi cast Naruto a side glance, brows furrowed in the slightest. Minato must have told him to keep his mouth shut if he knew anything, otherwise Naruto was sure Kakashi would have said something in rising suspicion. Instead he muttered, "Nobody reads cookbooks in public."

"Nobody reads porn in public either."

If they weren't in the middle of a busy street, Naruto was sure Kakashi would have pinned him up against a wall and put a kunai to his throat right then and there. He kept his guard up the rest of the way to Kakashi's house, smirking quietly to himself. The younger man glared forward, a fist clenched at his side.