The Decision

At the Hokage Office

The sunset streamed through the enormous glass windows, bathing the office in warm orange light, but it did nothing to dispel the gloom on Naruto Uzumaki's face. He was practically sprawled across the Hokage's desk like a potato that had lost all hope, even his blond hair looking a little dull.

"Arghhh—Kakashi-sensei!" he groaned, his voice muffled by the desktop. "What in the world is going on?! This is suuuuuper troublesome!"

Across from him, the Sixth, Kakashi Hatake, leisurely flipped through a collected volume of Icha Icha Paradise without so much as raising an eyelid. "Hmm? What is it this time, Naruto? Too many forms, or did you forget Hinata's birthday again?"

"No! It's a hundred times worse than that!" Naruto jerked his head up, his face full of frustration and dismay. "It's the school! Kakei Sumire just submitted a report! That kid, Kakashi Sakuya, broke two of his classmate's ribs on his very first day! All because the other kid said some nasty things about Lian! This is a real mess!"

He waved his arms around as he explained. "I know the kid might be pretty capable, but he went way too far! This is... this is worse than Sasuke was as a kid! How am I supposed to explain this to the injured kid's parents? He's not only a member of the Hatake family, he's your nephew, Kakashi-sensei! Doesn't that make it sound like he's throwing his weight around? It'll damage your image as Hokage! Damn it!"

The more Naruto spoke, the more agitated he became, until his face was all scrunched up. "And when did you suddenly get two such talented nephews, Kakashi-sensei? You never mentioned them before! The way they move, they don't seem like ordinary kids at all... I can hardly believe it! They're even stronger than Genin, aren't they?"

Kakashi finally closed the book in his hand at an unhurried pace and set it gently aside. His visible eye curved slightly, as though he found Naruto's reaction amusing.

The office fell quiet for a moment, with only Naruto's heavy breathing breaking the silence.

"Naruto," Kakashi said in his usual languid voice, though there was an unmistakable note of solemnity beneath it. "Does Sakuya's fighting style—and the way he looks at people—seem familiar to you?"

"Huh?" Naruto blinked again, his thoughts thrown off course. "Who taught him... such ruthless, precise Taijutsu? That... one-strike-kill style..." He furrowed his brows and tried to think. The image of a man with long, tear-streaked hair appeared in his mind... No, that wasn't right. A different style... darker, more obsessive, willing to do anything to achieve his goals, putting all his skill and intelligence into 'fighting' and 'protecting'... Suddenly, a man with waist-length hair and full-body red armor flashed through his mind...

Naruto's pupils contracted. He whipped around to look at Kakashi, his eyes full of disbelief.

"C-could it be...? But... that's impossible! He was already... How could that be?!"

Kakashi sighed softly. His lazy air vanished, and his gaze grew deep and complex. Leaning forward slightly, he lowered his voice and spoke the name that seemed impossible to believe:

"Uchiha Obito."

"Oh... Uncle Obito..." Naruto suddenly froze. "W-what?! Uncle Obito?! Kakashi-sensei, what kind of joke is tha—" Seeing the seriousness in Kakashi's eyes, Naruto was left completely stunned. He sprang up from his chair. "But wasn't he... already gone after the Fourth Shinobi World War...?"

"I thought he had disappeared completely, too." Kakashi's voice carried an indescribable weight. "But his will—or rather, the chakra and consciousness he left behind—seems to have endured somewhere in the world, somehow. These two children, Sakuya and Lian, are among the very few surviving descendants of a branch of the Uchiha Clan. They were separated from their family as infants when disaster struck. Somehow, they encountered the remnant of Obito's consciousness, and he took them in and trained them."

Kakashi watched Naruto, who had gone completely rigid, his mouth hanging wide open, then slowly continued:

"Obito passed on everything he had learned in his life: his combat techniques, his rules for survival, and even his knowledge and understanding of the Sharingan and ninjutsu—everything he had. And he taught them in his own extremely harsh way. That's why Sakuya's fighting style is so... merciless. Because the man who taught him was someone who could turn into hell itself to 'protect' those he cared about."

"Uchiha blood runs through their veins, and Uchiha Obito's way of the ninja is carved into their bones. That's the truth." Kakashi's gaze turned serious. "'Hatake' is just a necessary disguise. Naruto, they aren't my nephews. They are... Obito's disciples, and among the last remaining embers of the Uchiha Clan."

Naruto slowly sank back into his chair. The complaints and dismay on his face had long since been replaced by shock and tangled emotions. He struggled to absorb the unbelievable news, then could only scratch his blond hair and let out a long sigh, filled with resignation and pressure.

"...Sigh. Uncle Obito's students, huh... I'll have to give it everything I've got to sort this out... I'll protect them, no matter what! Because that's my way of the ninja!... But... this is suuuuper, super troublesome!!"

Kakashi smiled faintly. "Naruto, this is the Hokage's daily work."

Naruto slumped heavily onto the desk. "Argh!! Damn it, dattebayo!"

Kakashi looked at Naruto, who was still complaining about how troublesome it was, but now had an utterly resolute look in his eyes. A trace of relief flickered in Kakashi's gaze. He picked Icha Icha Paradise back up and casually turned a page, then asked in a conversational tone:

"Ah... Right. Speaking of which, have you heard anything from Sasuke? And how's that kid Boruto doing lately?"

Mention of his teacher and son eased some of the tension on Naruto's face, though he still looked a little resigned.

"Sasuke's the same as ever." Naruto scratched his cheek. "He regularly sends back reports about his investigations into Otsutsuki ruins using a Ninja Hawk. He still writes so little, like every word costs him money! Honestly, what would it hurt to say a few more things? Still, having him out there on patrol does make me feel a lot safer."

He paused, and a genuine, fatherly smile appeared on his face.

"As for Boruto... Hmph, he's still got a long way to go!" Naruto started in on Uzumaki Boruto as usual, but there wasn't much reproach in his voice. If anything, he sounded a little proud. "He's training out there with his master, and he's grown a lot. In his last message, he said he'd gotten pretty good at changing the form of the Rasengan. His chakra control is still a little rough, though—just like mine was when I was a kid, haha!"

After laughing, he sighed again. "That kid just never makes things easy. He even made a fuss about using Scientific Ninja Tools before. He's more sensible now, but he's no less talented at getting into trouble. He's even more of a headache than I was back then!"

Kakashi's eyes curved slightly, as if he could picture the master and student training out there from Naruto's words.

"Is that so? Training with Sasuke is the best experience he could have." Kakashi spoke slowly. "After all, the Uchiha are probably the only ones who can keep a handle on 'No. 1 in unpredictability' ninjas like your Uzumaki family."

He added another seemingly casual but meaningful remark, lifting his gaze from the page to glance at Naruto:

"Come to think of it, does Sasuke know about these two new arrivals in the 'Hatake' family? Especially that they may share his bloodline, and that they've inherited the 'way of the ninja' of his old friend?"

The words snapped Naruto out of it. He slapped his forehead.

"That's right! Sasuke doesn't know yet! This is bad! It's super important—I've gotta tell him right away!" Naruto jumped to his feet and paced back and forth across the office. "With how devoted he is to the Uchiha, if he comes back someday and finds two Uchiha descendants suddenly living right under his nose—and they're Uncle Obito's students, too—but I never told him... He'll stab me with Chidori for sure! For sure!"

Imagining Sasuke with a cold expression and a dark aura hanging over him, Naruto shivered.

"I have to send him a message through a secure channel right away! All right, I'll take care of it!" Naruto rushed toward the door to get things underway, but stopped abruptly when he reached it. Turning back to Kakashi, he wore a belated look of concern.

"Um... Kakashi-sensei, what do you think Sasuke will do when he finds out? Is he going to come straight back and take the kids away? Or... train them even harder?" Naruto knew all too well how complicated his best friend's feelings about the Uchiha and power could be.

Kakashi buried his gaze in his book again, his tone returning to its usual languidness and faint inscrutability:

"Who knows? It's always been hard to guess what's going on in that guy's head." "Still, this might... turn out to be an opportunity."

An opportunity for the Uchiha to truly put down roots in Konoha again, in a new way.