The World Was All Before Him

The World Was All Before Him

- SuishouTenshi

A/N: Didn’t expect this chapter to take so long, but some details were necessary to setup the next chapter. When I was one page close to being done with this chapter, Naruto Manga Chapter 367 came out and totally threw me off course. Yondaime’s relationship with Naruto was finally revealed (and thank goodness I wasn’t wrong about that little part), but that whole real name thing means Naruto’s last name here won’t be Uzumaki, and shall follow Yondaime’s Namikaze.

Aside from that, nothing much has changed. Have fun reading, and I’ll try not to take too long with the next chapter.

Act III, Scene I: The Absolute Principle

It was a consequence he had foreseen, Kakashi mused grimly, that the death of a hated creature could so vastly overshadow the birth of a human being. On Naruto’s third birthday, after weeks of planning, the village of Konoha busied itself with welcoming foreign peace delegates from Rock and Mist, sang praises of its prosperity after its triumph over the monster fox, and though they were accepting enough to rejoice in this epic victory with their previous enemies, no one would openly acknowledge that deep within the Hokage tower, surrounded by cries of joy, an innocent little boy had no choice but to celebrate a different delight in secrecy.

Kakashi grunted and put up a chakra barrier around the tiny room they were situated in. The villagers’ happy cheers didn’t appear to bother Naruto very much, but Kakashi was seething inside.

“Kakashi-niisan,” said a little voice accompanied by a sharp tug at his uniform. Kakashi looked down and noted with a slight surge of amusement that the little Uchiha prince was as messy as a three-year-old could get. No doubt Naruto had once again put Sasuke through all kinds of hell.

“What is it, Sasuke-kun?” Kakashi asked as he tried to force the boy’s rumpled tresses back into some semblance of the style that his mother meticulously combed it into every morning. He would never had admitted it two years ago when the Uchihas shamelessly forced little Sasuke into Naruto’s life, but it was easier for him to look at the boy and see black eyes that didn’t judge him.

Not that it meant Kakashi liked the rest of that clan any better; they were still elitist leeches, particularly that narrow-eyed Itachi.

Their plan had worked to an extent. Sasuke was now a seemingly permanent role in Naruto’s life. And no matter how many pranks Naruto pulled whenever he stayed over in the Uchiha compound or how dirty and bruised Sasuke was after a day of playing, the Uchiha matron never stopped making play-dates. As a return courtesy, even the fair and just Yondaime had to allow the Uchiha police force some leeway or extra funding.

It wasn’t entirely a bad trade, because Sasuke certainly came in handy at times.

“Naru-chan wants to know where Hokage-sama is,” Sasuke told him.

Kakashi looked over to the middle of the room. Naruto was “flying” a wooden bird in circles with his own added soundtracks of giggles and chirps. He didn’t look like he was wondering the whereabouts of his father on his birthday, but Kakashi was too experienced by now to doubt the mind-reading capabilities of Uchiha Sasuke when it came to Naruto’s needs and wants.

“Naru-chan?” Kakashi halted the bird’s trajectory before it crashed into an early death. “Do you want to see your papa?”

Naruto didn’t say anything. But then again, he never did. At the age of three, while other ninja children were already learning how to read and write, Naruto had yet to utter a word. There weren’t any physical maladies, for he was perfectly capable of making sounds, and his hearing was fine. The only explanation the doctors could come up with was psychological.

Naruto didn’t nod or make any blatant gestures to confirm or deny the question. But round blue eyes drooped, chubby fingers tightened around his toy, and Kakashi knew that once again, Sasuke the Naruto interpreter was right.

“Naruto? Naru-chan? Sensei is very sorry he can’t be here for your birthday. There are a lot of very important people in the village today, and your papa is busy. But later tonight, I’m sure he’ll...”

Naruto didn’t give Kakashi a chance to finish. The chirping began anew and Naruto suddenly became too occupied with chasing a sympathetic Sasuke around the room.

“Wow, tough audience you’ve got there.”

Kakashi can’t recall the last time he was caught off guard in such a startling manner. He hadn’t sensed any strange chakra looming near the third floor room, nor did he hear the windows being forced open from the outside. But despite his confidence in his abilities, he was certain that the intruder sitting so calmly on the windowsill was potentially a very dangerous opponent.

But the older man’s posture was relaxed, and his hands were sprawled open on his thighs in a silent gesture of peace, and so though Kakashi’s fingers itched for a kunai, he managed to keep his own bearing purely on the harmless defensive.

The giggles of the children had stopped just as suddenly. Kakashi hoped Sasuke was at least sensible enough to direct Naruto to a safe position near the door.

“Talk about hostile. So you don’t recognize me, eh?” The white-haired stranger at the window recoiled, looking half-apologetic and half-insulted. Two blood-red lines of paint below his eyes scrunched up as he scowled openly. Spiky tresses bounced with resigned shakes of his head, and the bright kanji for “oil” seemed to glimmer on his forehead......

“Jiraiya-sama?” Kakashi asked tentatively, finally connecting this middle-aged man’s features to a younger face he vaguely recalled from his sensei’s old team pictures. If anything, that devil-may-care, teeth-glinting grin must belong to one and the same person.

“Ah-ha! So he does know me! Heard of my legendary tales, have you, my boy?”

Kakashi barely stopped his flinch in time. No one had ever called him “boy”. Ever.

“No,” he said with an unhidden bite, “but I’ve seen a picture of you before sensei... Yondaime-sama hid it away.”

Jiraiya hopped into the room, looking completely affronted by the news. “The brat hid my picture? Why?!”

“I’m not sure,” Kakashi answered monotonously. “Something about some dubious reading material you published. The Hokage went through a phase a few months back when he refused to acknowledge himself as your student.”

Jiraiya grumbled this time, with teeth. “The first volume of the Icha Icha series is meant to begin a new era in literature; its beauty is one your immature excuse for a teacher would never understand! But here, boy,” Kakashi flinched for real this time, “you can perhaps see its significance. I’ll let you have this collector’s item for free! You want it signed? Of course you do.”

Jiraiya broke off into raucous laughter. He did a few steps of a Kabuki dance, drew out a menacing-looking orange bound book from within his pouch and promptly scrawled his name over the first page before forcing it into Kakashi’s dumbfounded hands.

But the young Jounin composed himself quickly enough. He tucked away the signed book in question to better focus on the sudden appearance of a so-called “legend”.

“What brings you back to Konoha, Jiraiya-sama?”

“Why, to see my beloved student and this fabled son of his!” Jiraiya smiled that familiar tooth-baring grin and waved excitedly at the boys behind Kakashi.

Somehow Kakashi doubted a simple visit was Jiraiya’s reason for returning. A few years back when Kakashi was still new in the Anbu, there was an infamous altercation between the Sannin, and all three more or less declared themselves independent from the ninja village — one had done so even illegally. It was a classified case so Kakashi, like the rest of the village, was not privy to the details entailed. But even before their departures, the Sannin rarely showed their presence to the public, were never expected to take anything less than S-class mission orders, and were rumored to be deeply involved with their own experiments and trainings.

But Kakashi knew his position well enough to realize he did not have the power to make someone like Jiraiya talk if the man didn’t want to. So he stepped out of the way when Jiraiya went to greet his prodigy student’s son, and lifted his hitai-ate briefly to make sure the man wasn’t a henge.

“Hi there, little one! Look at you! You’re a little clone of your daddy! I am Jiraiya, and you are?”

The great toad-sennin knelt down carefully in front of the two distrustful boys and stuck out a large hand. Kakashi had to stifle a rare chuckle when Naruto looked blankly at the waiting hand.

Finally, it was the Uchiha who stepped forward to make their joint introduction. Though a spoiled crybaby most of the time, Kakashi had to admit, the kid was taught impeccable manners.

Sasuke moved to shield Naruto with his body, something the blond didn’t seem to like judging by the way he was pulling on Sasuke’s hair. But the older child pretended not to notice and forced his entire attention on Jiraiya.

“How do you do? My name is Uchiha Sasuke. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Jiraiya-sama. Please forgive Naruto’s rudeness; he is shy around strangers and cannot properly speak to make his own introductions.”

Like Kakashi thought, impeccable.

Jiraiya seemed to freeze momentarily. “What do you mean, he can’t properly speak? Is the boy ill?”

Naruto’s tugging sped up. Kakashi finally stepped up to stop him before he made Sasuke prematurely bald.

“Naruto has yet to say a proper word,” Kakashi answered as he pried off Naruto’s fingers and gave him a cookie to hold onto instead. “The doctors can’t make a clear diagnosis as to why, but it’s certain that the problem is psychological and not physical.

“Whoa, so you mean to tell me Yondaime’s kid is a retard?”

Kakashi’s head whipped around so fast he heard his bones crack. Sasuke dug his face into Naruto’s shoulder at the usage of the “bad word”. Kakashi covered Naruto’s ears belatedly and turned his one-eyed glare on his sensei’s mentor.

“I would appreciate it if you’d be more careful with your language around the children, Jiraiya-sama,” he hissed.

Jiraiya didn’t look as apologetic as Kakashi hoped. Instead, he sat back on his heels and ran his eyes across Kakashi from head to toe. The intrusive study from a high-level shinobi raised all of Kakashi’s shackles.

“Hatake Kakashi, I didn’t know the brat had demoted you to housewife status or I would have brought a housewarming present.” Jiraiya’s tone wasn’t scathing, or even sarcastic. It sounded like he really believed Kakashi had become a glorified babysitter.

“First of all, Jiraiya-sama, sensei is almost thirty and is the fourth Hokage, so I’d hardly consider him a ‘brat’.” Kakashi almost bit his own tongue; there were times when nothing but the word “brat” could fully describe Yondaime’s antics. “Secondly, Naruto understands our words perfectly; he merely prefers not to repeat them. And third, I assure you I’m still a fully functional Jounin of Konoha. I watch over Naruto because I want to, and because no one else has the energy or time to do so.”

Jiraiya nodded quite calmly. “I know. All things considered, you’re kinda like my grand-student, so I have some teasing privilege, I hope. I know that you gave up your captain position in the Anbu for the kid’s sake,” he reached out and tapped Kakashi’s upper right arm. “That takes dedication, loyalty, and a whole lot of self-sacrifice.”

The covered Anbu tattoo on Kakashi’s arm warmed, and he was glad his mask was in place to cover up the growing blush. Quitting Anbu had been his voluntary choice. He didn’t like being away on covert operations too long, or wearing an animal mask over his own cloth one, and he disliked even more the constant lingering scent of blood he carried home with him after an assassination. Being a regular Jounin meant he was able to stay in the village more and though he was asked to train potential Genin, the fierce seventeen-year-old genius had yet to pass a cell.

“I did what was necessary,” Kakashi responded quietly; potential pervert or not, Jiraiya was still a shinobi of high regard, and a praise from him was definitely noteworthy.

“Ah, so you have learned humility!”

Kakashi sent Naruto and Sasuke to play at the other side of the room. The children’s attention spans seemed to be at their maximum limit.

“I didn’t realize you knew so much about me, Jiraiya-sama.”

Jiraiya cackled. “Oh, the young, always thinking they possess all the intelligence in the world.” Kakashi frowned. It wasn’t as if Jiraiya himself was very old. At 41, he was barely middle-aged. “Worry not, young shinobi, all the things I know about you came from your teacher. I think he uses writing letters as a way of procrastination. Every time I get mail from him, it’s filled with pages and pages of anecdotes about you or Naruto-kun. Now, now, don’t wear that worried expression. I’ve heard nothing but good things about you; Minato seems to find you endlessly dedicated and amusing.”

Kakashi’s initial elation quickly soured when it registered in his mind that his sensei saw him as comic relief.

“Sensei, stop teasing Kakashi.”

Kakashi whipped around. The door had opened and he hadn’t even noticed. His failure to detect sudden intrusions twice in one day was certainly unsettling. It mattered not that both Jiraiya and Yondaime had skills beyond his comprehension; their unnoticed entrances felt like personal blows to his pride. But Kakashi swept his bitterness out the open window and tried to hide his discomfort behind his professionalism.

“Sensei, your guests from Rock and Mist...” Kakashi trailed off as Yondaime went over to pick up a laughing Naruto.

“I excused myself the moment I sensed Jiraiya-sensei’s appearance.” Yondaime rolled his eyes at a widely grinning Jiraiya. “And don’t worry if you hadn’t felt his presence. Jiraiya-sensei likes to disguise his chakra with that of a toad’s. Your subconscious would have dismissed it.”

Kakashi was a bit ashamed that his sensei obviously knew him so well, but also couldn’t help but feel a strange warmth bubbling within him.

“What brings you back to Konohakagure after all these years, sensei?” Yondaime paid enough attention to his son while simultaneously juggling his conversation with Jiraiya easily.

The Sennin shrugged. “All of your letters were driving me nuts. I just had to come back and see the mini-you. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought you had made a permanent Kagebushin in your childhood image.”

When it seemed like Yondaime could no longer pay attention to Jiraiya with Naruto tugging persistently on his hair, Kakashi took the birthday boy from Yondaime and beckoned Sasuke to help him calm Naruto down.

“Of course only you would come up with something so ridiculous, Sensei. Are you staying long?”

“Who knows? When one gets to my age, one must learn to live in the moment. I’d leave when I feel like it.”

Yondaime seemed to have expected this answer. He smiled warmly at the man who taught him everything and said with equal humor, “Well, if you are willing to grace us with your presence until tomorrow, we would love to have you over for breakfast in the morning. And of course, you too, Kakashi.”

Kakashi scanned Jiraiya’s mischievous grin and nodded his assent. If nothing else, he bet he could extract some embarrassing stories about his sensei from the old man.

“And will I be ‘welcomed’ by the chakra barrier surrounding your mansion?” Jiraiya smirked.

Yondaime chuckled ruefully. “Don’t think I’d ever let the shields admit your entrance again after you tried to plant those magazines under my bed that last time. I’ll leave the barrier down for tomorrow. I have an informal lunch with Rock delegates scheduled at eleven. Come over around seven, and we can perhaps spar a little before eating.”

Kakashi’s ears perked up even as Naruto started to chew on his uniform. A spar between his sensei and his sensei’s sensei! He hardly ever got to see Yondaime do battle anymore since the Hokage had no reasons to fight on a regular basis. This was looking up to be an excellent day.

A knock sounded at the door and an unfamiliar voice called out, “Hokage-sama, the foreign delegates are wondering about your safety.”

Yondaime scoffed and murmured quietly, “Probably just worried that I could possibly be plotting something behind their back. I should head back nonetheless." He went to Kakashi’s side and kissed Naruto’s nose. “When I return tonight, Naru-chan, we will have cake! Sasuke-kun, is Naruto still mad at me?”

Sasuke blushed innocently on Naruto’s behalf as he realized that Yondaime could read Naruto’s displeasure so clearly. “No,” he whispered, “just hungry. And he misses you, that’s all.”

Yondaime smiled kindly. “Of course. Thank you, Sasuke-kun, and you too, Kakashi. I trust both of you will join us for cake later tonight?”

Kakashi felt Naruto’s plump fingers tighten around his hand and nodded. Sasuke’s blush deepened as he informed Yondaime that his parents gave him permission to sleep over for Naruto’s birthday and had readied his necessities for him.

“Well then, sensei, I shall see you tomorrow,” said Yondaime.

Jiraiya smiled and headed for the window. “Tomorrow then, Kakashi-kun, Naruto-kun, and Naruto’s interpreter-kun!”

“Sasuke! I was named Sasuke,” the little prince declared unhappily. It was clear that he was not going to pay Jiraiya the same sort of reverence he gave freely to the fourth Hokage.

Jiraiya’s eyebrow rose in amusement, but he said nothing as he disappeared with a puff of smoke. Yondaime opened the door with a chuckle, and a nervous looking redhead bowed deeply in greeting.

“Oh, Kakashi,” Yondaime hurriedly added before he had to leave them, “stay over tonight?”

Yondaime’s expression was earnest, and the question was a well used one whenever he felt he needed extra help taking care of Naruto (and Sasuke). But Kakashi could not prevent his crimson flush as he noted with horror the quick and incredulous stare from the redhead genin.

“Yes, sir,” Kakashi answered in a rush and turned his back on a suddenly puzzled Hokage.

The door slowly shut behind him, and Kakashi was left with two little faces staring curiously at him. Naruto’s hands reached up and Kakashi knelt down to accommodate him. When Naruto slowly tugged down his mask and placed his open palms against Kakashi’s face, the copy-ninja was mortified to feel the sharp contrast between Naruto’s lukewarm fingers and his own burning cheeks.

- TBC

A/N: Title comes from Woodrow Wilson’s idea about loyalty.