[Chapter Size: 2100 Words.]
Third Person POV
Konoha, Year 42.
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...
The Leaf Village dawned strangely that morning. While the leaders of the Hatake, Uchiha, and Nara clans already had an idea of why, even before anyone else in the village.
They had received Minato's message the moment he began leaving the Village.
The night before, as soon as they all read what was written in Minato's message, they immediately frowned and went to the Senju clan in search of answers.
But what they found there was only Nawaki already waiting for them, informing them that Minato had left the Village and that there was nothing they could do to stop him.
The message was clear on Minato's scroll:
"I'm going to protect the Uzumaki clan, even if that makes me a traitor."
With that single sentence, he had disappeared.
All three leaders had different opinions about it. Sakumo already had an idea that this would happen. Minato seemed far too calm with the result of the village not helping the Uzumaki clan in exchange for peace, and he said that the Village needed a new Hokage directly to him. At the same time, he was the favorite to take the position, even at such a young age. He had already proven to have the favor of most of the Village when he organized a large part of the clans to unite around him.
But still, his last words seemed to indicate that he would no longer be an option, as if Sakumo were, at the moment, the best choice and not him.
Sakumo should have spoken to him directly when he heard about this matter, but his student simply disappeared before he had the chance to talk.
He was also surprised at Minato's determination to protect the Uzumakis to the point of fleeing the Village, throwing everything away, his career.
And not only that — upon arriving at the Senju clan, they discovered that the jinchūriki had also left with him. It was no surprise knowing she was Minato's fiancée, but they knew very well what it meant for the Village to no longer have a bijū, even if they hadn't used it in either of the two wars.
It was a situation no one could ignore. Even so, Sakumo and the others did not immediately seek out the Hokage to discuss it. The boy had deceived everyone when he proposed the Hokage's replacement, arranging for discussions to begin in two days. And today they discovered it was only a way to divert attention.
Lord Nara seemed quite worried. If Minato was protecting the Uzumakis and fighting alongside his companions — one of them being none other than the jinchūriki of the Kyuubi and, moreover, a perfect jinchūriki — everyone would immediately think that Konoha could have sent reinforcements, breaking the agreement.
In a way, the Four Nations might not even blame Konoha, since Nawaki warned that all five had headbands cut in half, which indicated they were rogue ninjas, disassociated from the Village.
But it was still an uncertain outcome. The Four Nations might accept the fact that ninjas had deserted from Konoha and joined the Uzumaki clan. Or they might accuse Konoha of breaking the agreement they had made to preserve peace, even having set a trap against them. Worse still, they might see an opportunity to attack Konoha, since now it no longer had such powerful ninjas as Minato and his companions, especially the bijū, even if it had never been used.
"Well, there's nothing more we can do. He's already with the Uzumaki clan. I just hope my daughter is safe... This still worries me." Mazu Uchiha said with some apprehension. After all, if she displayed powers like the legendary Uchiha, he wouldn't know whether to be happy or worried, as the consequences would be incalculable for the clan.
The world would fear the Uchiha clan once again, but at the same time, Mikoto was no longer associated with the clan, not anymore.
"Well, there's no point discussing this now. Let's leave this conversation for tomorrow. We'll summon the council and see what we must do, if we can do anything at all. According to Jiraiya's message, in a few days the Uzumaki clan will be attacked. And it's not as if we could simply show up there and ask Minato, along with Kushina and the other girls who are with him, to return to the Village." Lord Nara said calmly.
"Let's go and rest our minds, we'll talk later." Sakumo said.
With that, the three left, leaving Nawaki aside. He knew those three leaders would not be a headache to deal with. The problem would be what came after. The next day this place would be full of anbu ninjas looking for answers about Minato disappearing from the village.
Sakumo arrived at his home and the first thing he noticed was the sound of lightning coming from the courtyard. He found his son creating a thunderbolt in his hand while holding that hand tightly with the other.
He knew that Kakashi was secretly developing the same technique that Minato used with lightning. The Hokage had promised him that, since Minato had given the village's jutsu scrolls to him many years ago.
Sakumo was quite surprised to see that his own son had managed to perform it successfully in just a few months, even before being officially placed as an incompetent shinobi of the Village.
But what really made him raise his eyebrow was the scroll beside Kakashi. The roll was slightly open, clearly showing the complete technique. It seemed that he had been rewarded by the Hokage after all, but upon seeing the handwriting on the scroll... there was no doubt: it belonged to Minato. It was the same handwriting he had seen on countless fūinjutsu scrolls that Minato created, even when they were training kenjutsu and he would stop to write or develop seals. And the Hokage would never hand over the original scroll written by Minato to anyone else.
"Hello, son." Kakashi was startled, immediately looking at his father heading into the house while stopping to look at him, even as his hand still trembled with the lightning he had created.
Little by little, he undid the technique, until nothing remained but a few small sparks dissipating into the air.
"You seem busy... Did Minato give you this?" Sakumo asked calmly, pointing at the scroll.
Kakashi looked for a while before silently nodding, as he stared at his father. Kakashi still remembered very well the conversation they had had some time ago, on the day he received the scroll.
"I'm surprised by this..." Sakumo murmured.
"He gave it to me when I found him near his property. I've been training since then." Kakashi replied with an indifferent tone, though his curious eyes seemed to want to say something more to his father.
He omitted the fact that Minato had punched him in the face when the boy belittled and dishonored his own father because of his reputation within the Village.
Kakashi felt guilty for that. Very guilty. Even more so when everything indicated that it had been a move by the elders to try to remove Sakumo, his father, as a possible force that could replace the Hokage.
Minato had defended Sakumo in front of everyone and without hesitation, even if it went against the unanimous opinion of the village.
The white-haired boy had been so blind to his own rules and orders that he had never stopped to question them. Minato was completely different: he questioned orders, and that made Kakashi think he was a flawed ninja at first. In the end, someone who could easily be surpassed by Kakashi.
At least that's what Kakashi believed a long time ago, when he first started hearing about the prodigy Minato was becoming, both at home and in the academy. He had graduated in record time, and just for that, Kakashi thought he should be greater than Minato, but that wasn't the case. He believed that in a short time, he would have a greater name than him.
However, this did not prove to be true, since it was Kakashi who was far behind, and he could never surpass Minato. His former behavior, his fixation on following rules, had made him blind. Minato said one should follow rules when possible, but that he would break them without a second thought if a comrade needed to be saved. He would do so against anyone, even against the Hokage's orders.
He proved that a few nights ago. Kakashi had received a mission from the Hokage to prevent his father from acting against the village, while Minato organized all the clans to pressure the Hokage.
And even though, in the end, the Uzumakis were not helped as they had hoped, Minato still fought for it. He tried to do the right thing, and Kakashi could not deny that.
"And how are you doing with the technique?" Sakumo then asked, pulling Kakashi out of his thoughts, as the father wanted to know more about his son.
"I'm trying to master it... It's a bit difficult to maintain the lightning. The chakra is very dense and volatile, its intensity changes all the time, and it's hard to keep it stable. But I've made some progress in the past few days. I tried piercing some rocks in the training field... Only it's complicated to control." Kakashi explained.
"I imagined so. The technique has its problems, as I can see. And the flash must not be easy on the eyes." Sakumo replied.
"Minato can use the technique... I don't understand." Kakashi murmured.
"Yes, but Minato is a sensor. He can feel everything in front of him without any dōjutsu. And I doubt he's just a simple sensor. After hearing what they say about him, he might even perceive things inside barriers... Which should be impossible." Sakumo commented, laughing.
"And what do you think I need to do to use it?" Kakashi asked, seeming to put aside his pride.
"Honestly, without a dōjutsu like the Byakugan or the Sharingan, or even without a sensory ability, it would be better if you didn't use this technique. The first two you cannot have... perhaps the last remains. Maybe you can develop it like I did."
"You think I can become a sensor?" Kakashi asked, curious. It had been so long, years, since he had a proper conversation with his father, while still feeling guilty all the time.
"I developed sensory techniques over time. If you want, I can teach you." Sakumo suggested, watching his son carefully.
"I'd love to learn, father." Kakashi said with a little more emotion in his voice.
Sakumo raised an eyebrow upon hearing his son call him "father." It had been so many years since he last heard that.
"Then we will begin... after dealing with a bit of the Village's mess." Sakumo replied and turned toward the house.
"Father..." Kakashi called out as Sakumo was about to go inside. The man stopped and looked at his son.
"What is going to happen to the Village, really? The hokage-Sa... The Hokage is retiring... Who will be the next Hokage?" Kakashi asked.
"We don't know yet who will be Hokage. But things are more complicated than we thought." Sakumo replied.
"Can Minato become Hokage?" Kakashi asked next.
"Very doubtful. Minato wouldn't be the most suitable to take that position now." Sakumo said with a melancholic tone.
"Why? I don't understand... Aren't his techniques rivaling yours? They say he's even stronger." Sakumo heard that and wanted to laugh.
"That's true. He is even stronger than I am, I admit." Sakumo said without hesitation. "My skills with the sword are formidable. However, Minato is versatile with a multitude of techniques, not to mention his unique abilities. According to the reports, about what happened in the Land of Wind, it seems he hadn't even shown all his capabilities yet. As a child, he already defeated entire squads alone."
'Not to mention that sword form where he turns it into something black... I've never seen anything like it, he might even surpass me with the sword itself, my specialty...' Sakumo couldn't help but think. The boy was a monster.
Kakashi looked at his father with doubt.
"Then, if he's obviously stronger, why can't he become Hokage?"
"Minato left the Village, Kakashi." Sakumo replied more seriously now. "He made the decision to help the Uzumaki clan. He did that tonight, even if it cost him the Hokage position that could have been his in the coming days." He finished.
Kakashi was stunned, unable to believe what he was hearing