To the kind few fans that read and review this story, I am back with another chapter. Thanks again for the continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter. Please read the author's note at the bottom.

Bold-Jutsu

Italics-Thoughts/Letters/Flashbacks

Disclaimer- I do NOT own Naruto in any way and I never will. I just own the idea of the story, the story here and any possible support OCs.

Obito stood in the foyer of his house and waited for his father. He wanted to talk to him before he went out to the field again and give him something to commemorate his promotion to Jounin. His mind had conjured up a numerous possibilities, but he was unable to pinpoint a likely gift. He was broken from his thoughts when his father entered the hall a second later in his Anbu garb, mask in hand.

"Ah, you're back!" Takashi smiled.

"Yeah. You said you wanted to give me something?" Obito nodded.

Takashi nodded down the hall and they walked towards the family room. They entered it a moment later and continued until they came to a stop in front of the wall. On the wall was one of their family's heirlooms. It was a decent sized, straight edge katana that belonged to his father. He pulled it off the wall and felt a wave of nostalgia hit him as he held it. It was given to him as a gift when he reached the rank of Jounin and was to be passed on to the next of kin who obtained the rank. He looked at Obito and held the blade out to him and a look of surprise came to his face.

"Gramps' blade?" Obito asked, still in disbelief.

"That's right." Takashia nodded.

Obito's hands trembled as he reached out and took the blade from his father. He remembered the old family treasure and the tradition that came with it. He then remembered all the times his father trained him in the art of the sword. The constant hours of practice and being bludgeoned by the wooden blades now added up. He could not help but admire the beautiful blade he was holding.

The sheath was black and had a polished sheen to it. The grip of the blade was a dark red and crafted with top material to allow a perfect grip to whoever used it. He gave a light tug and pulled the blade out and had to blink the bright light away after it reflected off the blade. He set the sheath down and gripped the blade with both hands as he got into a fighting stance. His arms moved and he gave three quick slashes with the blade.

"The blade is yours now," Takashi said, putting his hand on his shoulder. "Wield it with honor and keep it pristine for the day your kid becomes a Jounin. Understand?"

"Yeah." Obito nodded. "I'll take care of it, Dad."

"I know you will."

Takashia gave him another pat on the shoulder before he put on his mask. They exited the family room and walked outside.

"Your mother and I will be gone for about a week doing contingency ops. So keep the house in order," Takashi said.

"What if I get sent out on a mission?" Obito replied.

"Leave a note and tidy it up before you leave."

Obito watched his father vanish in a swirl of leaves, leaving him alone. He then looked at the blade he was holding again and grinned. Yesterday started off as the worst day of his life, but as it went on it was only getting better. Not only was he promoted, but now he was acknowledged as a man by his father by receiving the family treasure. He gave a battle cry and swung the sword again.

The blade whistled as it cut through the air. He twirled it in his hand and tucked it back in the sheath. A small click came when it locked into place. He slung the blade to his back and adjusted the straps to fit his frame. When he finished, he took a look at his watch and groaned. He had to get to the staff call that would be starting in ten minutes. The walk to the Hokage Tower was easily twenty minutes.

"Not again!" Obito sprinted down the road.

Obito burst through the double doors to the conference room like a wild bull, garnering the attention of everyone inside. A fresh coat of sweat was visible on his face and he felt his face flush in embarrassment as everyone looked at him. He did his best to block out the stares and did a quick search for Kakashi and Minato. He found them near the front of the room and hurried to them.

"Nice entrance." Kakashi muttered to him.

"Bite me!" Obito retorted.

They both winced as Minato flicked both of them hard on the back of their ears. While they dealt with the uncomfortable feeling, Hiruzen cleared his throat and set his papers down on the table.

"Now that everyone is here, we can get this underway," Hiruzen said, taking his pipe out of his mouth.

The meeting started off slow and just like how Kakashi said it would. There was a brief reflection about the previous meeting and the tasks that had been assigned to the Jounin in the room. Since it was war time, the majority of the training exercises had been cancelled to allow Shinobi to be deployed to the front line. The biggest tasks that was assigned was for contingency operations to be carried out to stop Iwagakure from supplying their lines by cutting down their forces in battles of attrition. The second task was for recon teams that consisted of academy students and Anbu to conduct reconnaissance missions to gain intel on enemy positions and report them up the chain of command to be marked for attack.

While these tactics had worked earlier during the war, it was becoming ineffective. The enemy caught on to their strategy and had taken measures to counter their tactics. Now their missions were only getting minor success. This led to Konoha trying to do everything in its power to bring an end to the war as soon as possible.

"Now, with Minato's team succeeding in destroying the Kannabi Bridge, we have all but crippled one of the main supply routes for Iwagakure," Hiruzen said.

"You're welcome!" Obito grinned.

"That being said, we may have a chance to end this war within the next two weeks."

Murmurs swept through the room. The possibility of ending the war within two weeks was something they could only dream of at the rate they were going. However, if Hiruzen was bringing it up, then he saw providence with the chance it provided. Enough blood had been shed and any chance that there was to end the war would be taken in a heartbeat.

Hiruzen pulled out a pointer and indicated towards the map that rested between him and his Jounin. On the map it showed each country and little figurines for friendly and enemy units. Most of the action was in Grass country and there were some missions being done in Rain country. The pointer circled a small point on the borders of Fire, Grass and Rain. It was a remote area, but there was a well-known river that ran through the three countries in that spot.

Iwagakure was using the river itself as a way to hire smugglers to get supplies across as well as transport their supplies to their fronts. There was a large city that was home to Port Hanzo which was being used as a vital route of transportation as well.

"With the Kannabi Bridge destroyed, Iwagakure only has one true route of transportation left here, and that's with this port." Hiruzen tapped the spot on the map.

"What about Deadman's Bridge?" Another Jounin spoke up. "It's another bridge that is close to that port that they've been using as a route of transportation, too."

Hiruzen nodded and shifted the pointer a little to the left. Deadman's Bridge was the last key route that offered any form of resupply to enemies on the front line. If Konoha's forces could take control over the port or destroy the bridge, it would be a decisive victory for them. The only problem that came with it was their strength was nearing its end and they were running low on Shinobi to deploy. It was at the point that they even had injured Shinobi on the front lines that were deemed unable to fight just to keep presence.

They would only be able to go for one route at a time and with both of the supply routes getting frequent traffic, it would be impossible to split the forces evenly. The only option they had was to send the remnants of their main force for Deadman's Bridge or Port Hanzo and then go for the other when it was secured.

The room buzzed again with many Jounin offering suggestions on which route to go for first, but it was too divided to come to a decision. Kakashi, Obito and Minato had remained silent and they stared at the map. There was an alternative option, but it was very risky and could cost an unnecessary amount of casualties.

"Do you two see the choice?" Minato asked them.

"I see it, but this is a longshot." Kakashi folded his arms.

"I say it's worth the risk. Whatever ends this conflict sooner is worth the chance," Obito said, sparing them a quick look.

Minato nodded and raised his hand, getting the attention of Hiruzen. The room quieted down when Hiruzen cleared his throat. He then turned back to Minato and asked for him to speak.

"Sir, my team and I have found an additional option, but it's risky," Minato began.

"We don't have many options here, Minato. Besides, there will always be a risk." Hiruzen puffed out smoke.

"Right. Anyway, here is what I was thinking…"

Minato moved up to the map and Hiruzen offered him the pointer which he took. He then pointed to Port Hanzo and then to Deadman's Bridge. He then explained that the third option he saw involved splitting up their forces, but not by much. The plan was to deploy the majority of the forces to Deadman's Bridge where most of the combat would be, but to then send out a smaller task force to act as a fast moving, lightweight recon team that consisted of a dozen of their best Shinobi to Port Hanzo to intercept any supply movements and gain support from the civilian populace to emplace an embargo.

His plan was met with some protests with the majority of them saying it was a waste of manpower and unnecessary casualties. He did not falter on his plan and waited for them to quiet down before continuing his explanation.

"I know there's a high chance that the embargo won't work, but this task force we can send out would be more of a distraction to delay enemy forces at the most," Minato continued.

"So you want this task force you are proposing to act as a distraction long enough for us to destroy Deadman's Bridge and then come back them up at Port Hanzo?" Shikaku asked, walking up to the map.

"That's right. I know it's risky, but if anything, this could split Iwagakure's forces up too."

"How so?'

"By making them try to go to our flanks which is Port Hanzo and the Kannabi Bridge which has been destroyed and is being surveyed by our Anbu."

With that revelation, those that were quick to dismiss the plan now appeared to be considering it. Just like Hiruzen said, all of the plans were risky, but this one offered a very high success rate if the task force Minato suggested to form was filled with some of their best Shinobi. The long battle of attrition had hit Iwagakure hard and they would be getting desperate to gain ground soon now that the Kannabi Bridge had been destroyed. The tide of the war had changed, and now whichever side gained ground first was guaranteed a decisive victory for the war.

"Unless anyone else has a better idea, I'd say this plan is our best option." Minato handed the pointer back to Hiruzen.

He took his place behind Kakashi and Obito again and gave them his trademark grin. He was confident that he managed to get the support of his fellow Jounin to go through with the plan, but he was not done yet. First they had to have a ruling for which option they wanted and whichever one won, they would go with it. If his plan was chosen, he knew Hiruzen would ask him to create the task force and assign the best suited Shinobi to it. Not only that, he knew who he wanted in it.

"We will put this to a vote," Hiruzen said, taking his pipe out of his mouth. "Those in favor for Minato's plan, raise your hands."

All but three hands were raised which made Minato smirk inwardly. While not one for being very cocky, he had his prideful moments like everyone else. He was proud of himself for standing up and taking charge by showing everyone a third option, and even more so that he managed to defend his plan and convinced the majority of the room to side with him. That was something that was almost unheard of. The last time something like that had happened was when Hiruzen defended his belief on a mission and was soon given the title of Hokage afterword.

"The ruling is unanimous," Hiruzen set his pointer down. "Minato, since you proposed the idea of the task force, I want you to assign the best candidates to it."

"I understand, Hokage-Sama. I've already made my decision on two of the candidates," Minato replied.

"Who might they be?"

Minato lightly pushed Obito and Kakashi to the front of the room. Both of them were surprised at their master's bold gesture. Neither of them imagined they would be part of the task force when Minato mentioned it, having believed they would be assigned with the main element. They could see the stunned looks on the faces of their fellow Jounin and knew that they would have to sell themselves to convince everyone.

"Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Obito, do you accept being the designated leaders of this task force?" Hiruzen turned to them.

Kakashi and Obito spared each other a quick look. Both were at a loss for words, but they already made up their minds.

"Hai, Hokage-Sama!" The two of them nodded.

"Then it's settled. You two have three days to recruit the best candidates to the task force and run them by Minato for confirmation. Clear?'

They nodded again. Both of them already knew that a lot of their peers from the academy were more than qualified to take part of the task force, but they wanted to give them the choice to join rather than force them. However, given how well acquainted they were with everyone, there was a slim chance that they would be turned down if they asked them to join.

The meeting concluded soon after the decision to go with Minato's plan. After Kakashi and Obito had their task force team picked out and Minato agreed with it, they were to report to Hiruzen. The mission would begin later in the week if everything went smooth and if it was done right, the war could be over the following week.

Obito rubbed his tired eyes after he, Kakashi and Minato left the conference room. He was conflicted about his first staff call. On one hand he was thrilled to be doing what Kakashi was doing, but at the same time he had never been so bored in his life. He shuddered knowing that unless he was on a mission, he would have to endure two hours of that every Tuesday from there on out.

"I thought we were never going to get out of there!" Obito gave an exasperated sigh.

"I told you they were dull." Kakashi shrugged, before he gave his eye smile. "Well, that's being a Jounin for you."

"I don't suppose I could accidentally get myself demoted, right?"

Kakashi gave a light laugh at Obito's response, but soon turned serious. They had work to do. The sooner they got a start on it, the quicker they could be prepared to start the mission. Everything fell on their success to put together a strong team that could carry out Minato's goal of holding Port Hanzo.

"I say we get something to eat and then pay some of our old classmates a visit," Kakashi said as he started to walk down the hall.

"Sounds good to me!" Obito hurried after him.

As they walked out of the building and down the road to the market, they bounced names back and forth to include on the task force. For the most part, they had the same people in mind, but Kakashi had shot down two of Obito's suggestions since one of them was dead and the other was paralyzed.

"Speaking of injuries, what'd the doc say about your eye?" Obito pointed at his scarred face.

"I'm going to go in for a transplant tomorrow," Kakashi answered with a smile.

"Nice. Did they say how much of vision you would have?"

"I will be back up to one hundred percent at the end of the procedure."

Obito grinned and clapped him on the back of his shoulder. He was glad that his teammate caught a lucky break and would be able to have his eye replaced without issue. He then frowned and looked down at the ground as guilt filled him. It was his fault that Kakashi had to get his eye replaced in the first place.

"Hey, Kakashi?" Obito looked back at him.

"What's up?" Kakashi replied.

"I'm sorry."

Kakashi looked a little thrown off at the sudden apology. He cocked an eyebrow in confusion, but soon got the gist of what Obito was getting at.

"Don't worry about it," Kakashi said, waving it aside.

"But…" Obito protested.

"I'd rather have lost my eye than lost Rin."

Obito closed his mouth and nodded silently. Kakashi's words made him feel a little better, but he still had that lingering guilt that he got hurt because of his carelessness. He formed a fist and vowed to himself to not let his friends take what was coming for him again.

"Never again." Obito looked to the sky. "Kakashi. Rin. This time I'll protect you."

Short, yes, but still an update. I'm trying to go shorter chapters and better quality like professional authors do since I know one of my biggest problems with writing is giving an unnecessary amount of detail. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Be sure to check out my statements and shout outs below here. Thanks again, and I will see you next time.-CaptainPrice

Statements:

1.) I hate to ask my readers this, but is it possible for you to mention this story to your readers? I'd like to get more feedback on this story, but I have struggled getting people to comment on it.

2.) This will most likely be the last update you will see for the story until August at the earliest since I will be in Arizona starting in April to conduct military training for the next four months towards my MOS.

Story Shout Outs:

Naruto vs Sasuke: The Aftermath by Kingkakashi- A story that starts directly after the failed Sasuke retrieval mission. Without a doubt one of the best stories I have come across for the Naruto category on fanfiction. This story grips the readers attention from start up to finish.

Naruto: Potential Realised by Iron Monkey Fist

A damn fine addition to the Naruto archives. It is spectacular in terms of quality, plot and literature. Give it a read. I am sure you will not be disappointed.