upRooted

To begin with Hatake Sakumo was dead. There is no doubt whatever, about that.  The register of his burial was signed by the Miko, the Hokage, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. 

He spent some 20 odd years in limbo after leaving his son behind in a dramatic welter of gore. 

At the end of the world he was reunited with his son, Kakashi, and thought that their reunion and Kakashi's forgiveness meant they'd be passing on to the Summer Lands to be with his wife. 

To his great surprise, Kakashi disappeared during their conversation. While Sakumo returned....to a castle? As a ghost!? 

He was undeniably dead. However, his shade was confined to the grounds of a peculiar castle somewhere in Hashirama's Cursed Forest. 

A forest so dangerously mutated and twisted by chakra thrown around by Hashirama and Madara that only the Hokage was legally permitted to enter, in Sage mode no less, and was warded and sealed to hell and back to keep absolutely everyone else out. 

So...Sakumo was a bit taken aback it was being used by Civilians as a training ground in Mahou-jutsu. 

Like all good Leaf ninja, he gathered intelligence about these foreigners who'd infiltrated Fire Nation.

He wandered around trying to pick up the language and decipher exactly what they were doing in Hashirama's Forest. And if he could neutralize any potential threat they offered Konoha. 

He ascertained that there were four political factions that were nominal allies. Although the Elders of one faction had attempted treason and tried to eliminate the other three factions.

Each group distinguished their members by colored gowns which were thrown over their street clothes. 

The leaders appeared to be children. He assumed at first they were prodigies like his Kakashi but as time went on it appeared that they were really adults somehow trapped in child form.

They seemed dependent on chakra tools. They didn't seem to be learning or teaching hand seals. Instead they used words and chakra tools to utilize their chakra. The foreigners called it Mahou. 

Sakumo came to the conclusion that perhaps they didn't use Ninjutsu but instead the ancient and lost art of Ninshū.  

They did have Genjutsu and Taijutsu of sorts. 

They also seemed to eschew technology and science!  

How utterly bizarre. 

The strangest thing was that Sakumo wasn't the only ghost! There were dozens! And the Civilians were perfectly aware of them! And even interacted with them. 

Not a single person questioned Sakumo's right to haunt  疣猪 城 ( warthog-jo)! Apparently ghosts just showed up and haunted the place! 

History class was taught by a fellow ghost with some sort of odd Genjutsu. No living person could stay awake in his classroom.

Yes, his recitation of history was quite dry but not so much that listeners should collapse into sleep! 

Sakumo wasn't effected and eagerly soaked up all the freely given intel. 

Sakumo wandered the castle school for weeks and eventually came to a hospital room of sorts. 

The potions were fascinating. He loitered for several days following the elderly woman in charge and her apprentices trying to memorize their healing jutsus.

One of the apprentices called Chiara appeared to have the same Kekkei Genkai as the Hatake Clan. And she really did bear a striking resemblence to Sakumo and Kakashi too! 

From there he wandered through the kitchens and greenhouses and down to the dungeons. 

There was a sodding huge snake Summon in a secret room in the Dungeons. 

He immediately went back up to the infirmary and tried to manifest like the 騒霊( Sourei) called Peeves did. 

He managed  to spill some of the Mahou-jou's flue powder and draw a crude snake and down arrow in it. 

The foreign Wolf girl looked it over and a messenger sprinted off. Eventually a trio of young kids and an elderly woman that Sakumo recognized as the headmaster of the castle school came into the infirmary. 

Chiara pointed to the drawing. "The new ghost found something in the dungeons."

The boy with the lightening scar slapped his forehead and said, "We forgot to eliminate the Basilisk this time around! We accidentally brought it along!" 

"Sumimasen...this time  to wa dōiu imidesu ka?" 

"Oh, you can talk! We were starting to wonder if you were mute! You always disappear whenever someone spots you!" 

"I don't think he understands English, Madam Pomfrey!" 

"Just a moment and I'll fetch a translation charm. Every Mediwitch should keep at least one in their kit during wartime. You never know if you have to cross a border to another hospital." 

Madam waved her wand and with a brief sparkling surrounding the living and the dead Sakumo could understand the Mahoujou perfectly. 

They quickly explained that they, everyone in the castle including Sakumo, was trapped in some sort of time distortion caused by Ten-Tails pulling down the moon and destroying this world. 

So to prevent that from happening they were finding a point in time that they could exit the anomaly they were suspended in and prevent the Ten-Tails event from happening. 

Sakumo pondered this and asked, "What are your intentions for Leaf Village and for our world?" 

"We just want a place to live unobtrusively. Despite having chakra, we were born to what you call Civilians. We were being hunted down and killed because the Clans of our world hate chakra users who are born to Civilians. We were accused of stealing our abilities from the Pureblood Clans. Since the study of genetics is a science and sciences are favored by Civilians, the Purebloods dismiss the truth that our abilities are inherited traits just like theirs are." 

"That is ludicrous." 

"Prejudice typically is." 

"All right but why did you come here?"

"War between the Purebloods, the Half Bloods, and Mug-er Civilians has lasted decades. It started back in our grandparents day! We had enough. We decided to let the Purebloods and the Civilians fight it out and leave." 

"You left the Civilians to fight a war with the Clans?"

"Yes. Civilians in our world love science and technology. Our world is a lot more technologically advanced than yours. Our Civilians build weapons that could annihilate millions in a single shot. Turn whole cities into ashes."

"Shimatta!"

"Just so. By our estimates the Pureblood Clans should be wiped off the face of the earth in a matter of months." 

"The war was bad enough but we got caught in a time loop so we ended up child-soldiers for centuries!"  

"What would you do if war breaks out in this world?"

"I would hope that we would prevent another war from happening. Nothing good comes from war. The ones who are most eager to start them are the ones with the least to lose and most to gain at the expense of those who fight them!"

Sakumo made up his mind, "I will help if you send me back before I died."  

The time Sakumo had spent with the grown-up Kakashi in limbo had been enlightening. There were things he had to make up with this son. Things he'd like to do over.

"Let's take this to the Headmistress's office and discuss it with her."

~~~~ 

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at Sakumo in shock.

"What do you mean you're quitting!? You have a very important mission coming up!? What the hell will we do without you leading it?"

"I'm sure you'll manage. I am my son's only family. I can't leave the village until he's grown."

"He's tested out of all the classes at the academy! He's more than ready for the genin exams!"

"Umm, I changed my mind. I think it will do Kakashi good to spend time with his peer group." 

"YOU'RE BOTH QUITTING!?"

"Maa maa, what can I say. The Hatake Clan has dwindled too much for us to be active duty shinobi. Perhaps in a few generations when our Clan has made a come back we can send some fine young warriors to the academy."

"You cannot resign! I forbid it!" 

"No, I can't resign but I can retire. I performed enough missions and served enough years that I am overdue for retirement. Jaa na!"  And with a friendly wave Sakumo walked out of Hokage's Office.

Soon the Sandaime and Danzō Shimura would have their dirty deals exposed and there wouldn't be any whitewashing of their sins for their grieving heirs and to save the Village face with the other Elemental Nations. 

Since the Sannin had abandoned Leaf Village and Namikaze-san had taken off with Kashina-san and the Uchiha and Branch Hyuga to Uzushigakure, there was a dearth of Hokage candidates.

Sakumo was the most powerful S rank Nin left in Leaf. He was the most likely candidate for Yondaime.

Sakumo's strength and skills were probably why the last time around Sandaime and Danzō had plotted to frame Sakumo for that failed mission in Iwa. 

The Sannin had been driven out back then too.

Sarutobi Hiruzen never expected that Minato-kun would investigate Sakumo's last mission and try to clear Sakumo's name. Sarutobi never thought Namikaze Minato would find enough dirt to force him to retire and keep digging for the truth that could get him and Danzō, Koharu, and Homura executed!

Then the Kyuubi attacked and Sarutobi saw his chance to get back into power and kill any investigation in that failed Iwa mission; he ordered the Uchiha to stand down and claimed that Lord Fourth ordered them away. 

So, of course, Lord Fourth conveniently died with his wife and Third dumped their child in a gutter and made the boy the village pariah out of petty spite dressed up as "protection". 

And the Uchiha were left holding the bag of blame for the destruction caused by the Kyuubi. 

Too many good shinobi were used and discarded so Hiruzen Sarutobi and his cronies could maintain power. 

His son had suffered many decades under Third. Only briefly alleviated during the time he was taken in by Minato-kun and his wife. 

Sakumo must thank the Sannin; Orochimaru for killing Third, Tsunade-hime for cleaning up the Village's corruption, and Jiraiya-san for finally ferreting out the truth behind Sakumo's failed mission. 

Sakumo would pay back all his debts. 

The first debt he was going to pay was a debt of friendship to his son; he would be recording some new members in the Hatake Clan genealogy.  

The Maito and the Lee families were technically Civilian families and nominally related. They had served as body guards for dozens of generations to a foreign Civilian noble clan. Most did not have any chakra coils but occasionally did produce a child that did. They had moved to Konohagakure after the lord they served had died of old age. What assassins and war had failed at doing, infertility had accomplished in their place. The old geezer had no children and was an only child who was the son and grandchild and great-grandchild of equally infertile people. Absolutely no family could be found to carry on afterwards and the Noble house was dissolved leaving the Maitos and the Lees unemployed. 

Being foreigners and Civilian born meant they were poorly trained and poorly equipped and sent out on missions poorly supported. 

The same with the orphans who ended up at the Academy; they were treated as disposable. 

Well, Sakumo had been used and discarded during his first go-around and had sympathy for those were treated similarly. 

The Hatake Clan started off as a farming clan. Sakumo would rebuild the clan with the good seedlings his son, Kakashi, told him about. 

'Who was next on the list? Nohara? Hmm, she left with the Uchihas. Umino? Yes, how about them?', he thought as he ambled through the main gate of the Hatake compound. 

His son and their long lost cousin Chiara-chan were waiting for him. 

"So how did it go?" 

"Fine. What can they do? They can't order me not to retire. Every Shinobi that has fulfilled their duties to the Village is allowed to retire. It's in the Village charter!" Sakumo shut and sealed the gate.

"Will I really have to go all seven years to the Academy, Papa?" 

"Yes, but you'll get to have fun with Guy-kun and Iruku-kun and Tedo-kun. That's much better than missions." 

"But, Papa-"

"Hey, what are you hanging out here for? Lunch is ready!" Dora-san jiggled young Tedo on her hip. 

"Who cooked?" 

"Nobody cooked. We're wizards. We transfigured vegetables into soup."

"I think that still qualifies as cooking." 

This set off a heated debate on what did and did not qualify as magic cooking. 

Sakumo smiled. He dedicated his last life to serving a conniving politician. This time his life would be dedicated to his son and new Clan and making the conniving politician's life a living hell. 

~~~~

Kakashi was perplexed. He was fairly sure he was dead....again. However, instead of reaching the Pure Lands he woke up in his childhood room to the sound of his father talking with strangers. 

All of his Nin-ken were scattered around him sleeping. 

He pulled on a robe and slunk out to see what was going on. 

"Kakashi can sleep in today. It won't hurt him to miss one day at the Academy." 

There were three foreigners sitting in the Hatake's dining room. 

Kakashi blinked. There was an extra Nin-ken. A huge black mongrel he'd never seen before. 

His father caught sight of him. "Ah, you're up already? I was going to let you sleep late today. I'm going to talk to the Hokage about something important. I want you to show our cousins from The Land of Iron around the compound and Village today." 

Kakashi stared at his father. They didn't have any living cousins in The Land of Iron and those people looked very foreign. 

This had to be some sort of weird hallucination caused by genjutsu. He had to be trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi or something. 

The shoji screen from the kitchen banged open and Maito Gai and Maito Dai came out with the traditional Japanese breakfast of ichiju sansai. 

Guy shouted, "ETERNAL RIVAL, THERE IS ONE SOUP, THREE DISHES, AND RICE AND WE HAVE TRAVELED BACK IN TIME AND IT DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE SASKUKE-KUN'S FAULT!"

Sakumo, the fake cousins including the Nin-ken, and Kakashi stared at him and then collectively face-palmed. 

Maito Duy looked flabbergasted and said, "Let's just eat."

So they did.