Mending The Past To A Better Future

In the Absence of Light

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The whole Uchiha-coup had really given Shisui a reason to have a migraine, but that feeling only increased tenfold as he paced up and down in Naruto’s old apartment, privacy seals activated. He glanced up for what had to be the tenth time in the past minute, and stared at the small mob of people that had gathered together. It was Kakashi, Obito, Itachi, Naruto, Minato, Fugaku, and… Yamato-taichou, apparently.

Minato looked just as pained as he felt, and he exchanged a long, suffering look with the older man. Shisui didn’t have words. But, Minato did.

“Your mission was recon,” Minato says, clearly a mixture of irritated and exasperated. “All you were supposed to do was investigate the tunnels, spy on them a little, and then report back. Your job was not to take a living person from the facilities!”

“I couldn’t just leave him behind!” Naruto argues, scandalized. Her blue eyes flare in a way that lets Shisui know she’s gearing up for some verbal sparring. “That’s Yamato-taichou!” The rank of captain is only confusing to Obito, obviously, and Shisui can tell he wants to ask, but is sensing it’s clearly not the right moment to intervene. “And Danzo was hurting him, dattebayo! He was hooked up to wires and there were medical tools with his blood on it. Plus, his chakra is really distressed! Can’t you tell? He’s really scared!”

Kakashi is rubbing the bridge of his nose, looking incredibly tired.

“Naruto-san,” Fugaku says, and Shisui turns sharply to his Uncle. “You do realize that you’ve jeopardized the entire plan, right?”

“I have not,” Naruto says. “Danzo doesn’t even know that it was us who was down there, so he can’t actually trace anything back to us. Second, Yamato-taichou isn’t a liability. When Itachi and I found him, he was under chakra dampeners because he’s probably fighting back! And if his chakra is so distressed, then it must be because he’s afraid of Danzo and the others. Besides, even if Danzo were to find out it was us, he would still be in the wrong! Kami knows that no Hokage, past or present, has authorized experimentation on children and a secret network of Anbu spies that only answer to him!”

“The chakra dampeners aren’t because he’s fighting back, Naruto,” Minato says. “If you look at his arm, his Mokuton has been spiraling out of control. What did it look like when you first found him?”

Shisui watched Naruto think about it. And then a coil of dread began to unfurl in her eyes. “He… his hands were normal.”

“Exactly,” Her father says, somewhat gently. “And now his arm has turned into a tree trunk.” And it was true. Since the squad of four had first returned from the Root Headquarters, their captive’s arm had transformed from a lazy trunk to a sprawling tree, where roots and flowers decorated the bark-like arm that wrapped around the furniture in the apartment.

“He wasn’t under chakra dampeners because he was fighting back,” Fugaku says, and Naruto falters, glancing back and forth between herself and Yamato like she can’t quite believe what she’s hearing. And then, the steel that Shisui knows and loves returns at full force.

“It doesn’t matter,” The blonde shakes her head, taking a step closer to the unconscious boy. “Regardless of who he is now, Yamato-taichou isn’t a bad person. He has the potential to be our ally, and we don’t leave comrades behind. Even if I’d had that information back there, I would’ve still brought him with me. He’s innocent! We can’t just let him be tortured because he’s linked to Danzo. I’m not sorry about it, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

There’s a moment of silence, and Minato and Fugaku exchange dubious glances.

Itachi, surprisingly, is the next one to answer. “I agree with Naruto-san. It would not have sat well on my conscience to leave him behind. In the end, it was Naruto and I who rescued him. If anything happens concerning him, it’s on us.”