Overtwisted

“…”

“Hikari.”

“…”

“Oi, brat.”

“…”

“Are you listening to me, midget?!”

“Ow!”

Hikari rubbed the top of her head, glaring up at the irritated Uchiha through her dyed fringe. “What was that for?”

“I’ve been calling out to you for the last five minutes,” Obito replied, raising an eyebrow in question when the girl blinked confusedly. “What’s got you so distracted?”

“…I jinxed us.”

“Hah?”

“Look, over there.”

She pointed down the street, blue eyes fixed on a rather familiar figure. The person wasn’t looking in the pair’s direction, instead conversing with his two companions. “I told Dad that it wasn’t likely that we’d bump into Shikaku-san anytime soon,” Hikari said ruefully, memorizing the Ino-Shika-Cho’s chakra signatures. That bit of knowledge might come in handy someday. “But look who we have here.”

Obito snorted. “Your luck is crazy as usual. Think we should make a run for it?”

Hikari considered the suggestion for a moment, then shook her head. “No, let’s finish restocking first. Our seals are at full power and our appearances aren’t eye-catching. It’s unlikely we’d be noticed and even if we were, they wouldn’t recognize us.”

“True,” the Uchiha grunted, taking the package held out to him. He and Hikari were in a small village, buying supplies for themselves. It might have been strange if the group of five moved about together, so the two of them had volunteered to go shopping while the others went on ahead. “Sensei and Kakashi would stand out unless they completely change their appearances.”

“Yeah. There’s no use in elaborate disguises that are only necessary for a short time.”

Paying the shopkeeper while Hikari put their purchases into storage seals, Obito studied the trio in the distance. They weren’t dressed in the usual shinobi garb, donning casual clothes instead. But they hadn’t changed their looks in any way, so he assumed that they were on a simple mission and just didn’t want to be conspicuous. ‘In a village as small as this, the arrival of shinobi wouldn’t go unnoticed.’

“Hikari, can you handle the rest of the shopping yourself?”

The girl frowned, raising her gaze from the list she had been checking to meet the Uchiha’s gaze. “I suppose, but why?”

“I’m going to tail those three.”

“What for?”

“Is it a coincidence that they’re here or did they find out something about us? I want to know if we need to watch out for pursuers.”

Understanding the reasoning, Hikari waved a dismissive hand at the Uchiha, already shifting her attention back to the list. “Go, have fun. Play pranks on them if you like.”

Obito huffed at the last statement, smiling a little as he ruffled the girl’s hair and walked away. He turned a corner, slipping into an empty alley and disappeared.

Shikaku frowned, turning his head to peer at a shadowed corner. But there was nothing there; even enhancing his senses with chakra didn’t help.

“Shikaku? Something wrong?”

“No…I suppose not,” the Nara replied after a few seconds, making Inoichi and Chouza exchange bemused glances before shrugging. Their friend could be rather odd at times, after all.

“Come on, let’s go to the next place. There’s nothing to be found here.”

The dark-haired man nodded in agreement, looking back at the corner one last time before following his teammates.

‘Strange…I could have sworn that someone was staring at me.’

Naruto squinted his eyes, trying to make sense of the landscape. Everything was covered in white, thanks to the snow. It was cold and windy too, but his new orange jacket kept him warm and toasty. He just didn’t understand why they were out walking in bad weather when they could have made camp.

“Daddy?”

“Yes, Naruto?”

The boy looked down at his father’s head. Naruto was perched atop Minato’s shoulders, the man keeping a tight grip on his legs to ensure that he didn’t fall off. “Why are we out in snow?”

“We’re looking for two people,” Minato answered, nodding to Kakashi when the teen signaled that he was going to check the area further in the mountainous region the trio were currently in.

“Why are they out in snow?”

“Because they don’t have a home to return to.”

“Oh. That’s sad.”

Minato chuckled at his son’s downtrodden reply, inwardly marveling at how empathetic the child was. “Don’t worry, Naruto. We’re looking for them so that we can give them a home. You’ll welcome them, right?”

“Yes, Daddy! Can I help?”

“Good boy. For now, just keep your eyes peeled for caves or anything weird.”

“Okay!”

Smiling at the child’s enthusiasm -he was almost certain that Naruto had a look of utter concentration on his face- Minato turned his attention back to the landscape. They were at the borders of Tsuchi no Kuni and it would be risky to go further in without proper preparations. There was a possibility of running into Iwa nin, which he wanted to avoid at all costs.

Minato pushed strands of black hair out of his eyes, frowning as he extended his senses. His range was improving and he estimated that he would regain his previous sensory range with a few more days of practice. Right now he could sense up to twenty miles around him; unfortunately, Kakashi was the only other human in the vicinity.

The group had initially stopped in Kusa, since that was where Hikari had known Karin to be in their original dimension. But they had figured out that she had not arrived in the village yet, not seeing her or mother anywhere. That left them to search the surrounding areas.

Hikari’s clones had proven useful in that regard, quickly eliminating Taki off the list. That left Ame and Tsuchi. Venturing into Ame was risky, since Nagato was there and would be able to sense them the instant they stepped foot into the country, because of the constant rain. Tsuchi was safer in a way, thanks to the mountains.

Iwa nin were notoriously arrogant when it came to their natural defenses and while Minato knew it was nothing to be scoffed at, it wasn’t something he couldn’t handle. Thanks to that, they had decided to search the nearby regions of Tsuchi first.

Hence the reason why they were taking a lovely trek in an incoming snowstorm.

Fifteen minutes later saw them with no results and the snowstorm had increased in strength, the wind howling as snow pelted their bodies. “Sensei, we should leave or look for shelter!” Kakashi shouted over the gale, trudging along behind the father-son pair. He had quickly rejoined them when the wind had started to pick up; while he could handle himself in a snowstorm, there was no point in getting lost and having to wait for Minato to find him.

“See if you can find a cave!” Minato shouted back, raising his hands to get Naruto down from his shoulders. Even if the child liked it high up and wasn’t bothered by the snowstorm, it was still dangerous. “If not, we’ll head back!”

Before Minato could grab the toddler though, Naruto tightened his grip on his father’s hair and shouted, “Daddy, look! A cave!”

The older two looked in the direction Naruto pointed. There indeed was a cave in the mountain but it was rather far away. It was pretty amazing that Naruto had spotted it. “Good work,” Minato praised, tucking the cheering toddler under his arm. “Come on, let’s get there before the snowstorm becomes worse.”

Karin shivered violently and pulled the ratty blanket tighter around her shoulders, pressing closer to the unconscious form of her mother. “Mom…”

Manami was cold, her back facing the mouth of the cave they were in, in an attempt to keep some of the chill from reaching the little girl. Karin whimpered, cradling her mother’s icy hands and rubbing them to get the blood circulating. At the rate they were going, there was a big chance of them freezing to death.

“Daddy, someone’s there!”

The girl stiffened at the voice, fear lancing through her heart at the thought of being attacked by strangers. Karin had no idea what to do; she was too weak to defend herself and her mother, her frozen limbs not helping. So she tried to keep herself as still as possible, in the vain hope that they’d be unnoticed.

No such luck.

“The lady’s skin is blue!”

Minato barely kept a frown off his face as he agreed with his son’s exclamation; he didn’t want to alarm Naruto and send him into a panic. The motionless woman indeed looked frozen. If it wasn’t for the flickering of her chakra, he would have thought her dead. But the child pressed to her was slightly better off, chakra still vibrant though laced with fear.

“Kakashi, can you seal off the entrance and start a fire?” Minato asked his student, already reaching for his pack in search of supplies. The teen nodded and started on his task, setting up seals around the mouth of the cave. Physically blocking the entrance wouldn’t do, since the smoke from a fire wouldn’t be able to escape. Barrier seals to prevent the chilly winds from entering the cave was a better solution.

Whispering a quick thanks to Kakashi for his prompt actions, Minato looked at his son who was vibrating on the spot, gaze locked with the little girl. The man unsealed a bag from one of his storage seals and handed it to the boy, “Think you can find your sister’s extra coat and scarf for the little lady here?”

Naruto nodded fiercely and pulled the offered bag closer to him, digging into its depths in search of the aforementioned items.

Satisfied, Minato turned to meet the wary gaze of the little girl, who had shifted her eyes to him once Naruto was distracted. “What do you want?” she demanded in a shaky voice, tiny hands clutching her mother’s dress. “Don’t hurt Mom!”

“I won’t,” the Namikaze said softly, hands raised in a calming gesture. “I just want to help your mother. She’s really cold and might get sick if we don’t get her warm soon.”

“Promise?”

“I promise. Is it okay to come closer?”

The little girl gave a hesitant nod in response, eyes trained on the man’s hands in expectation of an attack. Minato didn’t react to her burning stare; instead, he reached out to turn the woman onto her back, frown deepening when he realized that she was too cold. He needed to work fast.

All of the thermal blankets in their possession were dug out and Minato spread a couple on the floor, placing the woman atop them. Her shawl and coat, damp from the snow, were removed next and a blanket was placed over her. By then, Kakashi had started the fire, close enough for them to feel the heat but far enough that nothing would burn.

“I’ll hang these to dry,” Kakashi stated as he took the wet clothing from Minato, eyeing Naruto who was insistently pushing a blue scarf towards a scared-looking girl. “You might want to rescue the kid before Naruto scares her further.”

Minato chuckled but shook his head. “I think she’ll be more receptive to another child than an adult.”

And he was right. Karin’s initial wariness had all but disappeared in the face of the boy with earnest blue eyes, who was pleading for her to take the scarf. “Take it! Nee-san’s scarf is really warm!”

“Okay…” she mumbled, accepting the article of clothing. The wool was soft and reminded her of fluffy clouds; she buried her fingers in the material, marveling at how comforting it was.

“I’m Naruto!” the boy introduced himself with a wide grin. “What’s your name?”

“Karin. My mom is Manami.”

“Nice to meet you!”

“Same here,” Minato added, gesturing for the kids to join him around the fire. “My name is Minato and that’s Kakashi.”

Karin nodded, a nervous but grateful smile on her face as she took a seat on the blankets next to her mother. “Thank you for helping us.”

“Don’t worry about it. Would you like to change out of those wet clothes?”

The little redhead stiffened and shook her head violently.

Minato winced in understanding; the two females had likely not had any good experiences with men and he didn’t know when the father had left or died. But Manami and Karin really did need to change into warmer clothing before they fell ill. Even if Karin could change on her own, that still left Manami.

‘I wonder if Hikari and Obito are done with shopping.’

“Would you be comfortable with a girl’s help, Karin?” Minato asked, one hand reaching into his pocket for Hikari’s Hiraishin kunai. He always had one of hers while she had his. “I can ask my daughter to come help.”

Karin’s expression brightened slightly and she nodded, pleased at the chance to meet another girl. If she was as friendly as the trio in front of her, then Karin didn’t have anything to worry about.

“Okay then. I’m going to call her and another person with a jutsu, so don’t be scared, okay?”

Hikari frowned when she felt a tug from her Hiraishin kunai that Minato had and internally sighed. She was done with shopping and was just waiting for a few items she had decided to purchase on an afterthought. Still, that wouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes.

No, the main thing was that Obito wasn’t back yet.

She could feel his chakra slinking around the village, still tailing the Ino-Shika-Cho. Judging by the razor-sharp focus in his chakra, it was unlikely that he’d meet up with her soon.

Seemed like Hikari would need to go to him.

“Here you go, girlie! That’ll be 5000 Ryo!”

“Thanks, mister!” Hikari grinned up at the shopkeeper, taking the bag he held out to her while holding out the required amount of money in her free hand. Once the transaction was complete, she dashed off into a darkened corner of the street. The last few bags hanging off her arms were dumped into a storage seal, leaving her hands free.

‘Now to find Obito-nii and meet up with Dad!’

With that thought in mind, she zeroed in on the Uchiha’s chakra and used a Shunshin, trying to keep her chakra usage as low as possible. While her seals were active, they weren’t suppressing all her chakra, since she needed to pass as a civilian. If she used a little too much chakra, there was a chance of being exposed.

Thankfully, the trio of shinobi did not notice and Hikari appeared silently next to Obito, who was perched on the roof of a restaurant. He didn’t bat an eye at her sudden appearance, simply shifting his gaze to her with an inquisitive expression. “Time to go?”

“Yep. Dad’s calling. By the way, did you find anything useful?”

The scarred teen shook his head, getting to his feet and following the girl. “Nothing useful or important. It looks like like Sensei’s action during the Kumo incident sparked a lot of unease and curiosity, but Konoha’s nowhere near figuring us out.”

“Then those guys being here is simply a coincidence?”

“Yeah.”

“Awesome,” Hikari grinned. She was looking forward to leading them around on a wild goose chase, if Konoha ever did pick up on their tracks, which might be possible if they pulled in Jiraiya. Actually, it was likely that he was already on the hunt for them, since there was no way he would be sitting still when Naruto was registered as missing.

That was a concern for the future though.

Hikari grabbed the amused Uchiha’s hand and triggered the Hiraishin with barely a flicker of chakra. They were gone the next instant, leaving behind a deserted street.

Manami woke to warmth, something soft covering her and the sound of Karin’s laughter. It took her a few moments to get her bearings, having only hazy memories of the time before she had lost consciousness. The last thing she remembered was darkness and holding her daughter close to her.

The two Uzumaki had originally been near Takigakure and had been planning to cross the border to seek shelter in Kusagakure after they had been denied entry into Taki. But they had lost their way and stumbled into the mountains of Tsuchi no Kuni. Manami had panicked; it was winter and they hadn’t any warm clothing, making traversing the snowy mountains more dangerous.

With no one around to ask for directions, Manami and Karin had resorted to sticking to the very edge of the mountains, hoping that they could find the right way to Kusa soon. But the snowstorm that had come out of nowhere had impeded their progress and the two had sought shelter in a nearby cave.

“Ugh…”

“Looks like your mom’s awake, Karin.”

The unfamiliar voice jolted Manami to full awareness and she shot up, head whipping to the side to find six pairs of eyes watching her. Before she could do or say anything, Karin tackled her with a cry, small arms winding around her neck. “Mom! How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine, sweetie,” she murmured, voice soft. Manami returned the hug, squeezing her daughter tightly before switching her attention to the strangers. There was an adult man, two teenage boys and two kids, a girl and a boy. None of them seemed or felt hostile, so the woman relaxed.

A thought occurred to her and she asked, “Did you help us?”

The man nodded, a friendly smile on his face. “Yes. You were bordering on hypothermia, so it was lucky that we found you when we did.”

“Oh. Thank you very much,” Manami bowed as much as she could, considering her seated position. She didn’t doubt his worlds; the biting chill that had rendered her motionless was still fresh in her memory. It was likely that she and her daughter could have frozen to death.

Karin wriggled out of her grasp and did a twirl, a delighted grin on her face. “Look, Mom! New clothes!”

The little redhead was indeed sporting new clothes, instead of the thin grey shirt and shorts she had worn before. She was now dressed warmly in a cream-colored sweater, black pants and a pale violet winter jacket. There were even new shoes on her feet.

“You look very pretty, Karin,” Manami complimented, casting a questioning glance at the man whose smile widened and answered her silent query with a single nod. “Did you say thanks?”

“I did! They got you new clothes too! We match!”

“What?”

The woman blinked and looked down at herself. In her concern for her daughter, she had forgotten about herself. She was wearing a full-sleeved cream-colored shirt, paired with a black skirt that reached down to her ankles. The clothing was clearly made for travel in cold conditions, thick and durable.

A flush crept up the woman’s neck and colored her cheeks and Manami ducked her head in embarrassment. She understood that her clothes had probably been wet from the snow and they had to be removed for her health. But there was no way Karin could have changed her, so…

“Don’t worry; I was the one who changed you and Karin,” the black-haired girl piped up, correctly interpreting the reason for Manami’s embarrassment. “I kicked everyone at that time too.”

“Thank you…but why would you go so far for us?”

“Before that, you should eat,” the teen with scars on his face interrupted. He had been stirring something in a pot over the fire and judging by the smell, it was some kind of soup. The other teenager produced two bowls out of what seemed like nowhere but Manami knew enough to figure out that he had gotten them from a storage seal.

Manami and Karin were laden with steaming bowls of vegetable soup within the next few seconds, the pair blinking bemusedly before digging in.

“To answer your question from earlier, we were actually looking for you,” the man spoke after at least half the bowls were empty, making Manami stiffen at the unknown implication in the words.

“Why?” she asked suspiciously. While they had done nothing to them so far, it didn’t mean that they were completely safe. Manami had had enough of being hunted down just for her bloodline. She did not want Karin to grow up like that too.

“Cause you’re family!”

The boy, who looked to be around Karin’s age, beamed, blue eyes sparkling as he dashed over and patted Manami’s hands clumsily. “And family sticks together!”

“I…what?”

Manami stared in shock, absently wrapping an arm around Karin’s shoulders when the girl pressed against her side. She couldn’t believe the boy’s words, not after never meeting any of her clan all her life after Uzushio’s fall.

“He’s not lying,” the girl with long black hair said with a smile. She had the same blue eyes as the boy and the man, making Manami assume that they were blood relatives. “We’re currently using a seal-based Henge to hide our appearances, since we really, really don’t want to be found. Or at least most of us; Obito-nii’s looks are his own.”

The scarred teen snorted, casting a deadpan stare at the girl who only snickered at his reaction. “I’m pretty sure that we already established that I’m the only one who’s least likely to be recognized,” he retorted drily, far too used to the tease.

“Yup. Anyway, we’ll drop the Henge so that you can see us for real,” the girl told Manami. She made a handsign; there was a faint fizzle of chakra that Manami detected and that was how she knew that the seal had been broken.

Out of five dark haired people, only the scarred teen was left. The other teenager had silvery gray hair, the man and the toddler had sunshine blonde hair, but what took Manami and Karin aback was the girl.

She had fiery crimson hair.

“You’re…”

“Namikaze Hikari, also Uzumaki Hikari, at your service,” the newly revealed redhead chirped cheerfully, blue eyes twinkling mischievously.

‘Wait, did she just say Namikaze?!’

Manami’s eyes widened and she looked at the man sharply, taking in his bright blue eyes and blonde hair. All of a sudden, those features took on a whole new meaning.

She had never come across him before or even seen a picture of him, but she had heard enough about him to realize that the man seated across her was Konoha’s Yondaime Hokage, the Kiiroi Senko.

Namikaze Minato.

“But you’re supposed to be dead,” Manami whispered, almost faint with shock.

Minato shrugged, a half-grimace on his face. “Yes,” he admitted, quickly eyeing the blond toddler who was thankfully preoccupied with feeding candy to a happy Karin. Thankfully, neither child was paying attention to their conversation.

“We’re not sure how, but a jutsu worked in an unexpected manner and brought me back to life,” Minato explained quietly. “It’s a secret though. The only ones who know I am alive are all in this cave.”

“Why didn’t you return to Konoha?”

“After what they did to my children, I won’t be forgiving them anytime soon,” he muttered darkly, making the teenagers nod in agreement. Hikari sighed and climbed into her father’s lap, hugging him tightly.

“Dad really doesn’t like talking about Konoha.”

Manami could understand. A parent’s love for their child would overcome all boundaries and if she would do anything for Karin’s happiness and safety, then Minato, with all of his power, could easily destroy a village for his children.

“Anyway, let’s continue with the rest of the introductions,” Hikari smoothly changed the subject of the conversation, sensing that Manami believed their words to be the truth, even if it was missing a few facts. “These two are Dad’s students, Uchiha Obito, and Hatake Kakashi,” she pointed to the dark-haired teen first then to the masked one. “And my little brother is Naruto.”

“Also, just so you know, I’ve been declared dead for years,” Obito cut in, a sardonic smile on his face as he casually spoke about his legal status. “KIA and all that, but not really, as you can see. And Kakashi here is currently marked as MIA but we expect that to change to KIA soon.”

Manami blinked. “What?”

“We thought that Obito died during a mission,” Kakashi explained when the Uchiha elbowed him to answer in his stead, glaring at the other teen but complying. “And I wasn’t in Konoha when Sensei took Naruto from the village, so I went on a lot of missions to try and find him. It was in the middle of one that these guys kidnapped me and I never returned, so it makes sense to declare me KIA.”

“I see…”

That was a lot of information, so they left Manami to process it in silence, for which she was grateful. While she wasn’t a combatant, she had some sensory skill and had been using it to monitor the others. She hadn’t sensed any lies, so she knew she could trust them. And Karin, who was a sensor far surpassing her mother, was at ease, which said a lot.

Manami watched as Hikari left the adults and skipped over to the children, dropping to sit on crossed legs beside them. Naruto immediately climbed onto her lap, excitedly showing her something he had in his hands. After a few seconds of hesitation, Karin joined them, standing next to the older redhead’s knee and squeaking in embarrassment when her head was patted in a fond manner.

It was for her daughter’s sake that Manami made her choice.

“If we were to join you,” she started seriously, looking Minato straight in the eyes, with all the determination and steel of a devoted mother, “would you guarantee my child’s safety and happiness?”

Minato understood what the woman was asking and smiled, nodding in response. He was the same, wanting to give Hikari and Naruto a better childhood than what they had already experienced. “Of course. No matter what, the children come first.”

“I believe you. You love those two very much.”

“More than anything.”

“I can see that in your eyes. Anyway, where are we going after this?”

“Hmm…as a heads-up, I’ll tell you that we’ll head to Konoha one day. But for now, we’re touring the world. How does a tropical beach sound?”

Jiraiya eyed the lines of exhaustion on the Sandaime’s face but didn’t comment on it, knowing full well that he probably looked somewhat similar. “What did you need me for so urgently that you pulled me from my search?”

If he sounded a little more aggressive than he had intended to, he neither cared or apologized.

The old Hokage sighed but obliged to the demand, pushing some papers towards his former student. “I assume you’ve read the report I sent you about what had happened in the Hyuuga compound?” When Jiraiya nodded, he continued, “These are the seals that were found in Hyuuga Hinata’s room. Can you make any sense of them?”

Snatching up the papers from the desk, Jiraiya plopped down on a nearby chair and squinted at the ink. As expected, the seals were completely unknown to him, which verified his suspicions that they were original creations. They also employed an unusual method of layering, something that could and would stump any low-level Fuuinjutsu practitioner because of the sheer impossibility in figuring out which component belonged to which layer.

Even he had a hard time deciphering it; unravelling the entire thing would take weeks of work and research.

He said as much to the Sarutobi.

“We’ve hit a dead end then,” Hiruzen murmured, tapping his pipe against the wood of the desk. He had been hoping that figuring out the seals would give them a hint towards the identity of the man Shikaku had dubbed as ‘Kuro’ but it seemed like that was not the case.

“But,” Jiraiya interrupted, scratching his head in confusion. “This is a little weird.”

“Weird how?”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say this style of Fuuinjutsu belongs to a certain someone, except for some parts.”

Hiruzen frowned. There weren’t many Fuuinjutsu masters, even when counting in all the Elemental Nations, which was why he had been hoping to narrow down the list of possible culprits. But what Jiraiya was saying implied that he recognized the seal work. “Who are you referring to?”

The Gama Sennin didn’t reply for a long time, staring at the papers in his hand with a deep-set frown. When Hiruzen was just about to give up on receiving an answer, Jiraiya raised his head, meeting the old man’s eyes with an intense but bewildered gaze.

“A dead man.”

He paused, turning his head to the side, eyeing the portraits on the wall, stopping at one and staring.

“Namikaze Minato.”