Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This particular room inside the academy is filled to the brim. With not only students but also the parents. Not all of them, thankfully, but a good amount of them. They all got a note this morning that they had to get here. Yet no one has any idea as to why. There’s not even a clue as to who send the letters. They just appeared in their mailboxes.

What’s even more concerning is the giant screen in place of the blackboard. Nobody has even seen a screen this big, slim, or high tech. It’s a mystery how it got there. There are guards around 24/7 and while this might be a holiday they would not cancel their duties.

Then as soon as the clock turned 10.00 the screen turns on. On the screen appears a blue line that moves as sounds are made. A robotic voice starts speaking.

‘Welcome.’ The voice is slightly feminine but robotic all the same.

‘What’s the purpose of this?’ Hiashi Hyuuga asks. Like everyone he was summoned here. He’s not exactly happy with the arrangement. He has better things to do on days like this.

‘The purpose varies from person to person. What you’re about to see are fragments. These fragments can be the past, present, or future. Do with them what you please.’ The robot explains to them. It receives a good amount of shocked faces.

Naruto in particular shouts out loud. He bounces in his usual seat. ‘The future! Like the actual future?’

‘Yes.’ The monotone voice of the robot does not change.

‘Who are you?’ Shikaku’s eyes narrow. There is something suspicious about this. Why does this thing claim to have the ability to show them the future?

‘My name is 35173.’ The newly named robot answers.

‘That’s too long.’ Rock Lee complains as he slumps down on the desk he’s seated at.

‘Then you may refer to me as Number.’ Pleased noises explode in the room.

‘I have a question.’ Naruto raises his hand. The rest look at him with dumbfounded faces. Why does he raise his hand in front of a robot?

‘Feel free to ask. That’s why I’m here.’

Naruto delves straight to the point. ‘Am I hokage in the future?’

‘Yes. And the fragments you will be seeing will detail your journey there.’ It makes the group think. The kids are scared. Naruto Hokage? What has to world come to for that to happen?

‘So, Naruto here is the main point of the future.’ The current Hokage says.

‘Something like that.’ Number pauses for a second. ‘Feel free to take notes. Lots of information will be revealed.’ There is something distinctly human about the way she phrases that.

‘I’ll do it.’ Shisui raises his hand. No one else does so he gets handed a notebook and a pen. He takes his seat once again and takes position to start taking notes.

‘Though not everything will be useful.’ Number then points out. The adults narrow their eyes at the device.

‘What’d you mean?’ Shikaku asks.

‘Some of them are simply for entertainment purposes.’

‘Won’t we waste a lot of time like this?’ Fugaku, who is still grumpy, asks. He’d rather be doing anything else right now.

‘The outside world is partially cut off. No time will be passing there. Also, you have been provided with food and sleeping quarters for those who desire.’ The robot must have been prepared for anything. Now it’s likely that they’ll have to stay here for multiple days if they went as far as to provide sleeping quarters.

‘Get us out of here.’ Hiashi yells at the device.

‘Wait, if this thing is really going to show us the future it might be better to watch.’ Tsume points out. Most of the others agree with her. Though some are still hesitant because of the presence of the kids. They are still young after all.

‘Let’s all calm down and watch. If what this thing told us is true, then this will only benefit us.’ The hokage tells everyone. This convinces everyone and they all take a seat. The kids are all seated next to each other. Then there are the parents. And then the leftover group which includes Itachi, Shisui, Iruka, Kakashi, and Jiraiya.

‘I’m already doubting the future in which that brat is Hokage.’ Shikaku mutters to himself. But someone overheard him.

‘What does that mean?’ Naruto yells at the man.

‘With his pranks and all. That would be such a drag.’ His son Shikamaru nods along. It makes a sense of pride rise in his chest. The rest of the people can only sigh. It’s to be expected from a Nara.

‘Can we get started already?’ Hiashi is tapping his foot on the floor. It annoys nearly everyone and takes an Akamaru to lay on his foot to stop.

‘This is taking forever.’ Fugaku mutters. He has to keep up the façade of the grumpy parent, even if he’s genuinely curious as to what the future might hold for his clan.

‘Let’s all take a seat and enjoy the show.’ They signal number to start playing. Next thing they know the screen lights up.

Chapter Text

Everyone’s eyes are focused on the screen. The screen lights up and a title appears. ‘A surprise.’ It’s called.

‘What does that mean?’ Sakura asks. No one knows the answer to that question.

‘I guess we’ll find out when watching.’ Neji mutters. He really doesn’t want to be around all these talentless losers. What use is showing the future anyway? Fate is already decided.

‘I hope it’s super cool.’ Naruto is bouncing in his seat. There are a couple others that are just as excited as he is.

‘I hope it isn’t useless.’ Hiashi says. The other adults look at the man. They know he’s only acting.

‘I’m ready for taking notes.’ Shisui points out while waving his pen in the air.

‘Let’s start then.’

A clearing in the woods is shown. A lone boy in an orange outfit lays on the grass. Then a teen in pink is shown waking the boy up.

‘You’ll catch your death if you sleep on the ground,’ the girl says. She is completely hunched over the boy.

‘Huh?’ the boy is just starting to wake up. ‘Who are you?’

‘That’s me!’ Naruto points to the screen. He’s bouncing in his chair. The people in the room wince at the sheer amount of noise that comes from the boy.

‘It does seem so,’ Iruka says as he shakes his head. Naruto could be a little much sometimes. As far as he knows he’s one of the few people that can tolerate his behavior.

‘I wonder what he’s doing?’ Tsume points out. A couple others agree with her.

Next, they are shown picking herbs. ‘Are these plants really medical?’

‘She seems nice.’ Sakura says. She’s a little shy with all these other people she doesn’t know. She’s only a civilian girl. What does she have to do with the future?

‘I wonder what the point is of this scene.’ Shikamaru mumbles with his head on the desk. Naruto gives the boy a friendly pat on the back.

‘I’m sorry to have imposed on you,’ the girl says. Naruto doesn’t seem to mind. He just continues picking herbs.

‘So far there really isn’t anything surprising.’ Shikaku points out. He was expecting something that could help them in the future. Not something as pointless as this.

‘It’ll probably appear later.’ Itachi shrugs. He does admit he’s curious as to what the future holds for him. Especially with the tensions in the clan as of late.

‘You were the one doing this so early in the morning,’ Naruto says. The girl laughs.

‘Well, what were you doing at the crack of dawn?’ she asks with a smile.

‘Training!’ Naruto declares. He screams out loud. The girl seems a little surprised.

‘Of course, what else would he be doing?’ Kiba laughs. He knows Naruto better than some other people. And so, he does know that Naruto spends a large amount of time training. He wants to become Hokage after all.

‘He seems awfully excited though.’ Shikamaru says.

‘Really? That headband you’re wearing… are you a ninja?’ she asks. Naruto grins.

‘Yes, I am!’ he explains proudly. His shouts can be heard all throughout the forest they’re in.

‘Subtle.’ Shisui laughs. It’s great to see kids being kids.

‘Hey!’

‘That’s incredible.’ The girls face isn’t shown but she sounds impressed.

‘Heh… heh.’ Naruto laughs. The girls then puts on a serious expression.

‘What are you training for?’ she asks. Her eyes not quite meeting Naruto’s.

‘There is more to that girl. I can’t put my finger on it though.’ Inoichi points out. The others do agree with him.

‘To get stronger,’ he exclaims.

‘But you look so strong and manly already.’ Naruto doesn’t seem to agree.

‘Oh yes of course. So manly. Definitely the word I would use.’ Sasuke laughs.

‘Shut up.’

‘That’s wrong! I need to be a lot stronger than this.’

‘But why?’ the girl asks completely serious. This is probably a personal topic for her.

‘This is not much of a scene of which we can conclude that this really is the future.’ Shikaku says.

His friend Chouza replies. ‘That’s true. Maybe the next one will be.’

‘To become the best. Then all those people who used to treat me like dirt will have to say: ‘he’s the number one ninja’!’ Naruto grins brightly. ‘And right now, I have to prove a point to a certain person.

‘I wonder who?’ Sasuke taunts Naruto.

‘Maybe it’s you.’ Naruto glares at the other. They keep staring at each other for a bit before they smile.

‘Nah.’

‘Are you doing this for the sake of that person or for your own satisfaction?’ she continues to ask.

‘What?’ Naruto doesn’t get it.

‘Do you have anyone special in your life?’ Images flash by of a kid covered in grime and dirt. One can only conclude that this is the girl. Then a man appears, he just looks at the girl.

‘I wonder who that person is.’ Shisui says as he jots down some notes.

‘I don’t recognize him. But the kid must be that girl.’ Kakashi says to the other.

‘We could have figured that out on our own.’ Shikamaru says to the men. He receives a glare in return.

‘I believe that when people are protecting what’s dear to them that they truly become strong,’ the girl says to Naruto.

‘Wise words for a kid.’ Jiraiya laughs.

‘She must be pretty close to that man.’ Shikaku says.

Iruka asks the question. ‘What’d you mean?’

‘Her words imply that she’ll do anything to protect someone. The only logical conclusion is that man.’

Images flash by of Naruto protecting his precious people. Of Iruka protecting Naruto, of Kakashi and his teammates.

‘Huh. I didn’t think I’d see Kakashi here.’ Shisui laughs. Kakashi is not the most social of people. Maybe he’s the kid’s teacher.

‘I’m sitting right next to you.’ Kakashi glares at the teen.

‘I wonder what happened to Iruka.’ Naruto looks at his desk. He likes Iruka. He can only hope that nothing bad happened to him.

‘I know all about it!’ Naruto grins proudly.

The girl stands up. She slowly walks away. Naruto just stays where he is. ‘I know we’ll meet again, so you should know… I’m a boy.’

‘What!’ The kids scream out loud. Eyes wide, mouths open.

‘No that can’t be!’ Naruto yells. He’s way to girly to be a boy. He refuses to believe that.

‘So that’s the surprise.’ Shikamaru nods sagely.

Jiraiya is largely silent before saying something. ‘I did not expect that.’ He must have been thinking perverted thoughts.

‘It feels a little underwhelming to be honest.’ Sasuke mumbles. The rest of the class look at him.

‘What were you expecting?’ Shino asks the other boy. He might not talk much but that doesn’t mean he isn’t interested in things. This future viewing is certainly something he’s interested in.

‘Something crazy like flying machines or something.’ Sasuke waves his hands around.

‘You have a crazy imagination.’

‘So that’s the first scene.’ Hiruzen says. Most of the group has the same thoughts as the Hokage. They were expecting a bit more from the fragments of the future.

‘Is there anything important we can get from this?’ Inoichi asks his friend Shikaku.

‘Other than that Naruto is reckless? Not much. It was pretty entertaining though.’

Shisui however is laying on top of his notes disappointed with the small number of notes he got to take. ‘The only notes I’ve taken are about a boy crossdressing.’ ‘I thought this would be something amazing.’

‘Maybe the next scene will be different.’ Itachi tries to reassure him.

The next scene starts. First the title is shown. This time it’s. ‘A love hate relationship’.

‘I wonder what that means?’ Hinata presses her fingers together. She’s quite curious as to how the future is going to go. If she’ll ever get together with her crush Naruto. A blush appears on her cheeks as she thinks about it. Neji glances at her and she quickly turns to look somewhere else.

‘How can you love someone but also hate them?’ Naruto asks. He’s not an expert on relationships but it doesn’t sound right to him.

‘Let’s just say emotions are never clear.’ Iruka explains to the kid. He himself is also curious, not that he’ll say that out loud.

‘I don’t get it.’ Then they turn to look at the screen again and the next scene starts.

The scene starts with someone or something landing on a cliff. The landing makes a good impact as lots of dust and rock start flying. Out of the dust a foot appears. Then a figure appears. No one can really say who he is only that he wears some old armor.

‘I wonder who that is?’ Shisui asks. So far, this scene is looking a lot more promising than the previous one. His pen is already on the paper, ready to start writing actual notes this time.

‘He looks vaguely familiar.’ Hiruzen narrows his eyes. He’s seen the man before, but he can’t quite place it yet. It might be his age catching up to him.

‘He does?’ Itachi tilts his head to the side in the most adorable way. You wouldn’t think he was such a dangerous ninja if you saw him like this.

‘I’ve never seen him before.’ Naruto states. The rest of the group can only sigh.

‘I’ve been waiting for you, Hashirama!’ the man shouts. His strange purple eyes are clear for everyone to see.

‘That must be Madara.’ Hiruzen says.

‘But he’s dead.’ Shisui states out loud. Most of the others feel the same way as he does, shocked.

‘The thing did say we would see the past as well.’ Kakashi points out.

‘I don’t think this is in the past.’ Shikaku says. The rest of the people look at him, waiting for an explanation. ‘Look at his eyes.’

‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a doujutsu that looks like that.’ Fugaku mutters. If this really is the future, it’s not a good sign for their clan.

‘I have once. If I’m correct those eyes might be the rinnegan.’ Jiraiya says. It’s not something he’s proud to say. Madara with the rinnegan can’t be a good sign.

‘What?’ The adults stare at him in shock. Where did Madara get his hands on the legendary rinnegan.

‘That’s not a good thing is it?’ Sasuke asks his parents.

‘Not at all.’

Then another figure appears from whom they can only assume is Hashirama. ‘I’ll deal with you later,’ he says. Then the face of Madara appears again only looking a bit more disappointed. ‘I have to stop the ten tails first!’ Hashirama says as he points to Madara.

‘That’s pretty funny.’ Naruto laughs as he tries to lighten the heavy mood that’s currently hanging around the room. It’s not helping that much.

‘If you forget that he’s incredibly powerful and killed thousands of people.’ Shikamaru points out. Naruto isn’t taking it however.

‘So, did the fourth.’ And he’s right. During the third war the fourth Hokage killed thousands of enemies. Not only that he’s also powerful.

‘Good point.’ The adults don’t quite like the comparison though, not that they’ll say anything about it.

Sakura turns to look at the adults behind her. ‘What’s the ten tails?’

‘I’ve only heard of the nine tails.’ Kiba points out.

Kakashi too is caught up with that. ‘I thought the bijuu only went up to nine.’

‘According to old clan documents the ten tails is a combination of all the bijuu.’ Fugaku explains. Hiashi agrees with the man. It’s not exactly hidden information but it’s not too well known either.

‘If this really is the future it’s not looking too good.’ Shisui mumbles as he takes his notes.

‘You’re not wrong about that.’

Madara sighs. ‘He hasn’t changed a bit.’ He composes himself. Not as ready to spring into action. ‘We’re never on the same page.’ He mutters.

‘I don’t think anyone was.’ The third Hokage laughs. He’s remembering some of the great memories of his teacher.

‘What’d you mean?’ Hiashi asks. It’s well known that the first Hokage was a man to be feared. Not that he ever got to know the man himself.

‘He might have been an amazing ninja, but his head tended to be in the clouds. An odd personality indeed.’

Itachi blinks. ‘You learn something new every day.’

‘After all, it’s charging right at us.’ Hashirama points to the camera. The view then changes as it focusses on the giant creature running at a group of ninjas. Then the scene ends.

‘What the fuck?’ Jiraiya yells before he gets hit on the head by Tsume for his crude language. There are kids here.

‘Are those the other Hokage?’ Naruto asks.

‘But most of them are dead. You can’t revive the dead.’ Shikamaru says. His father is of a different mind however.

‘Hmm.’

‘Something big is happening.’ Kakashi says. He doesn’t like it.

‘Is going to happen.’ Iruka says. It’s not happening at the moment.

‘Not if we can prevent it.’ Itachi is determined to stop it before it gets that far. He has to protect Sasuke, no matter what.

‘I hope everyone is alright.’ Hinata mumbles to herself. Only the people sitting next to her heard her. It’s only a coincidence that Naruto is one of them.

‘Don’t worry. I’ll make sure everyone is safe.’ He yells out. He won’t go back on his word no matter what. He’ll make sure no one is hurt.

‘You’re seven.’ Kakashi says.

‘Not in the future!’

‘What have we got so far?’ Tsume asks the groups note taker.

‘There is a boy into crossdressing and Madara and the other Hokage are apparently alive somehow in the future. Not only that the ten tails and rinnegan are apparently a thing.’ Shisui explains.

Itachi nods along. He’s been working together with his friend on the notes, so he doesn’t forget anything. ‘Not much beside that.’

‘If only we could learn how it got that far.’ Hiashi sighs. No matter how stoic he might act he does love his children and he would hate to see them get hurt.

‘Maybe we will in the next scene?’ Tsume laughs at the man. She’s known him for a long time and knows exactly what he’s thinking right now.

The screen lights up again and this time the title is ‘behind the mask part 1’.

‘Part 1? Are there more parts?’ Shisui blinks.

‘Most likely.’

Chapter Text

Everyone stares at the screen eager to see what this scene has in store for them.

The scene starts with a close up of Naruto’s face. ‘Hey Kakashi sensei.’ He begins.

‘So, we’re going to learn what Kakashi looks like underneath his mask.’ Jiraiya smirks at the man he’s talking about.

‘Are you worried they might find out Kakashi?’ Itachi asks his mentor.

‘Not really.’ Kakashi shrugs, ‘I’m more concerned with the fact that I’m the teacher.’ He gets a hearty laugh in return.

Kakashi looks up from his book and gives Naruto a sign to continue.

Mikoto glares at the man, who secretly storing away his books in a storage seal. ‘Please don’t read that book in front of children.’

Jiraiya couldn’t be concerned less. ‘You are a fan I see.’ He rubs his chin in appreciation.

‘What kind of books are they?’ one of the kids ask. All the adults quickly look at Kakashi, as if he’s supposed to answer that. Even Itachi is looking at him strangely, does that kid seriously not know about that yet?

‘They’re for adults.’ Kakashi tells them. It tells them enough to quiet down about it.

Next thing they see is Naruto standing together with two other kids and Kakashi standing next to them. The sky is orange suggesting it’s late in the day. ‘What’s behind that mask?’ Naruto asks.

‘Judging by the way the other two kids are dressed I guess they are Sakura and Sasuke.’ Iruka says. Not that it’s much of a surprise, considering there is only one person he knows with pink hair.

‘So, they are on a team together.’ Tsume laughs. They look to be close, like her own team back in the day.

Kakashi looks at Naruto. ‘You want to see what’s behind this mask?’

‘Yeah.’ Naruto nods.

‘Then you should’ve said so from the beginning.’

Sakura leans closer. ‘Can you show us?’

‘Sure, I don’t mind.’ The three genin get even closer, eager to see the true face of their teacher. Next up is a shot of the three genin’s awaiting faces.

‘I’m getting nervous now.’ While Jiraiya is the only one to voice his thoughts, it does not mean that the others are not invested. Kakashi’s real face is one of the seven mysteries of the leaf village. Every year there would be numerous attempts to see what’s underneath.

‘Kakashi’s face. I never thought I would see the day.’ Shisui stares at the screen intently. He once heard that the beauty of Kakashi’s true face could cure even the worst illnesses.

Kakashi’s hand slowly reaches for his face. ‘Alright.’ Then the scene changes to a shot of Kakashi revealing his face to have ginormous lips.

‘Oh my.’ Mikoto laughs.

‘That’s hilarious.’ Iruka agrees. Kakashi doesn’t react in the slightest.

‘Is it like cod roe?’ Sakura’s face is closed in. Next up is a shot of Kakashi revealing his face with large teeth.

‘Buckteeth?’ Sasuke questions. Then Kakashi’s face shows a tiny mouth making kissing motions.

‘Or a tiny mouth?’ Naruto says.

‘Your students have a wild imagination.’ Shikaku mutters. But everyone heard him.

‘They certainly do.’ Iruka laughs. This is not the only time he’s seen them imagine crazy things. A little less than a week ago Naruto came in yelling about flying salmon or something. It might have been an attention grab, but gosh was it creative.

‘Do you have those things underneath your mask?’ Neji asks the masked man. He heard that only the fourth Hokage had seen the man’s true face, and when that happened he proposed immediately.

Kakashi only offers them an eye smile. ‘I suppose you’ll see.’ It does not calm any of their worries.

‘Behind this mask,’ Kakashi grabs his mask in the slowest of motions.

‘Behind that mask,’ the three genin lean in.

Then all of a sudden Kakashi pulls down his mask only to reveal another underneath. ‘Is another mask.’

‘What?’ To say they were disappointed was an understatement. If they weren’t in the presence of the Hokage they would all lunge at the man to tear down the mask and reveal what’s underneath once and for all. The Hokage himself too was feeling the same urge.

‘Really Kakashi?’ Itachi glares at the man. He too had heard plenty of rumors surrounding the other man’s true face. His cousin Obito once told him there was a hideous mark underneath, in the shape of a sake bottle. But Obito had always been one to exaggerate things, so he doesn’t know how true that is.

‘Awesome isn’t it.’ Kakashi smiles at all of them from underneath his mask. He always enjoyed messing with people like this. His only worry now is the part 2 that’s sure to come sooner than later.

‘One day I’ll see what’s underneath.’ Naruto exclaims from his desk.

‘In your dreams.’

‘What!’ the three students scream out. They then promptly fall down to Kakashi’s laughter.

‘That wasn’t much of an important scene.’ Itachi grumbles from his place.

Shisui turns to look at his best friend. ‘What are you talking about. What’s underneath Kakashi’s mask is of utmost importance.’

‘I mean in the progression of the future.’

‘That’s true.’ Shisui lays down on his desk, it’s not like he got to take too many notes this time. ‘It was entertaining though.’

‘I haven’t had a laugh like that in a good while.’ Tsume agrees with him.

‘Glad to be of service.’ Kakashi smiles.

‘Don’t be disappointed everyone, there is always part 2.’ Shikaku points out to everyone.

‘You’re right. They did say this was part 1.’ Neji says. He’s not too much of a fan of useless quests but from what he heard this wasn’t a useless quest in the slightest.

‘One day Kakashi.’ Naruto makes eye contact with his future teacher. Kakashi only smiles, he likes the kid.

The screen lights up again. This time giving the name: ‘Art is …’

‘Interesting title.’ Shikamaru says.

Naruto puts a finger on his chin. ‘I wonder what that means?’ The others in the room agree with him.

The scene starts with a shot of a blond-haired man. His hair is long and covers one eye. ‘An artist must always seek ever greater stimulation lest his senses turn dull.’

‘Who’s that?’ Lee asks the group. He’s never seen that man walking around.

It seems he’s not the only one. ‘I guess we’ll find out.’

‘What? Those pyrotechnics of yours… art?’ The focus shifts to another man. His face is partially covered and there is this large mechanical tail sticking out from him. ‘Art is a work of beauty, captured and left for posterity… it is the beauty of all eternity.’

‘What the point of this scene?’ Shikaku asks the rhetorical question no one but number would be able to answer.

‘Sasori as a fellow artist, I respect your perspective.’ The blond says to the man next to him, who is apparently the missing ninja from Suna. ‘But in my opinion art is transient beauty that fades after just a moment, hmm.’ The blond ends his sentence with a guttural grunt. They are sitting in some sort of cavern. The blond sits on top of a body and there is a cartoonish looking bird next to them.

‘What is happening here?’ Sasuke asks his brother, because his brother knows everything.

‘A bit on context would be helpful.’ Shisui mutters. How is he supposed to make notes if he doesn’t know what it is about?

‘I have heard of Sasori before.’ Shikaku says.

‘Who is he?’ Naruto asks.

‘He’s a ninja from Suna who’s mysteriously gone missing around the same time as the third Kazekage.’ Conclude from that what you will. But the obvious conclusion everyone should be able to make.

‘A dangerous man indeed.’ Hiruzen agrees. If he’s able to take down a Kage without anyone noticing… certainly someone they would have to watch out for.

The focus then shifts to Naruto and then Sakura. They are slightly older than in the previous scene. ‘What’s with them?’ Sakura questions.

‘Wow, we look old.’ Naruto says. Sakura agrees with him. She does think she looks really strong.

‘You’re like what, fifteen there?’ Jiraiya laughs at the kids. Even in the future they are still kids.

‘That’s almost ten years into the future.’ Sasuke explains because he can do math.

The adults think. ‘I suppose for a kid that is a long time.’

‘Enough of this!’ Naruto takes out a scroll and unleashes a giant shuriken. He grabs it and sends it after the two men. The mechanical one only swishes his tail to change its course.

The two men do not even take any notice. ‘Deidara you fool. Are you trying to make me angry?’ Sasori voice deepens.

‘Have you heard of Deidara as well?’ Naruto asks the adults. All of them shake their head.

‘No, I haven’t.’ Hiashi replies.

‘He looks to be only a bit older than Naruto over there. It’s likely he’s still a child right now.’ Shikaku explains. They all agree with him.

‘From Iwa.’ They could conclude from the headband he’s wearing. ‘Might be something to keep an eye on.’

‘I did say you wouldn’t like it, did I not? Hmm?’ The now named Deidara says.

He didn’t even have to look. Sakura comments in her mind. Kakashi next to her has the same look in his eyes. Naruto is growling next to her. His whiskers have deepened and there is a red glow surrounding him.

‘What’s up with me?’ The older people in the room shift. This is not something they are allowed to talk about.

‘Uh… I guess we’ll find out…’ Shisui stammers out.

‘Right.’ Shikamaru has his eyes on them. He knows they know something he just has to figure out what.

The shot then changes to that of an older lady. As I feared, his handling of the puppet remains unchanged.

‘Does she know him?’ Hinata asks. She always likes to look up other female ninjas, it gives her something to strive for.

‘It might be lady Chiyo. She’s actually Sasori’s grandmother.’ Kakashi explains. He has heard about her, if only because his father killed her child.

‘My art is the explosion itself.’ The cartoonish bird next to them moves to pick up the body Deidara was sitting on. ‘Compared to your grotesque puppet show… it’s not even in the same league.’ Sasori doesn’t take the comment lightly and reaches out for the man next to him. Deidara dodges and jumps on his bird. Then the scene ends.

‘Who’s that other guy?’ Chouji asks the group. However, none of them seem to recognize the boy.

‘I have no idea?’ Sakura says. She has never met anyone with hair that red.

‘We must be there to save him.’ Naruto bumps his fists together. It must be one of his friends that he is to heroically save.

‘Maybe.’

‘This scene certainly had more to offer, on the future progression part.’ Inoichi says.

‘I’m wish we got more information.’ Kakashi says. He had seen himself there. It must be something important if they have to team up with Suna nin.

‘Two missing nin part of some group dressed in clothes with red clouds.’ Shikaku has his hand on his chin. ‘Might want to note that down.’

‘Already got it sir.’ Shisui says. He’s not stupid.

‘If only we knew who that boy they took is.’ Jiraiya mutters. Considering the boy’s red hair, he might be an Uzumaki descendant, but then again Suna does have enough Red head itself so that’s not likely.

‘It would certainly help a lot.’ Hiashi agrees. He has not seen anyone in his family yet but that doesn’t mean they’re not there.

Then the screen lights up again. Now the title is: ‘A discovery of mister fluffy.’

‘That sounds funny.’ Sasuke points out. He doesn’t know what it means but it sounds like it’s hilarious.

‘Maybe the scene will be funny.’ Ino agrees with him. She too has been called in. Not that she has much to complain about, this way she’ll be able to see who she’ll hook up with in no time.

‘I was hoping we would see something a bit more serious by now.’ Neji says to the group. About half agrees with him while the other half would rather watch something a bit more fun.

The scene starts in a are surrounded by trees. There are three people in the clearing. Naruto, Iruka, and a third person: Mizuki. It’s Mizuki that starts talking. ‘Don’t you want to know what really happened in the incident where the nine tailed fox was sealing twelve years ago?’

At the first line being said all the older people stiffen in the room. This can’t be revealing that. If it does, then a law will be broken. Can you punish a robot though?

‘Hey! It’s Mizuki-sensei and Iruka-sensei.’ Kiba points at the screen. The adults take note. Now they know who to arrest. Iruka meanwhile is sweating nervously. Hopefully he doesn’t do something bad.

‘This can’t be good.’ He mutters.

‘Shut up!’ Iruka yells from the ground. The man can’t quite move well since there are multiple weapons in his body.

Mizuki continues talking like Iruka said nothing. ‘Since that incident the people in the village have been bound by the strictest decree.’

‘Please stop this scene immediately!’ the Hokage tells the robot. The screen quickly fades to black, only for the line of Number appearing again.

‘I apologize. It is necessary for the rest of the future.’ The robot states. The Hokage has to think about that. Considering the things, they saw in the future Naruto might very well be using the power, it would not work to try and keep it silent for then. Maybe this is the best. Maybe Naruto has to find out.

‘What’s wrong Old man?’ Naruto asks.

‘Nothing for you to worry about.’ The old man shrugs of Naruto. Naruto is not completely convinced. And Shikamaru isn’t either.

‘I don’t know of any decree?’ Naruto sputters out.

‘Of course not. That’s was the whole point of it. For everyone to know except you.’ Mizuki smiles.

‘This is different from all the other things we’ve watched so far.’ Sasuke says. He was hoping for something funny but now he can feel the bloodlust through the screen. He never thought he’d see Mizuki like this. The rest of the class does agree.

‘If you ever need a hand to hold feel free to come here.’ Shisui flashes the kid a smile. Sasuke ignores the other, much to the other’s dismay.

‘What are you talking about?’ Naruto’s face comes into view. He’s shocked, there’s sweat all over his face.

Mizuki starts laughing. It’s like the sound of one of those cartoon villains. His face then changes to a grin. ‘That no one must ever tell you… that what you really are is the demon fox!’

‘That’s not true.’ The Hokage says. The entire room looks at him. ‘Just wanted to get that out first.’

‘Then what is it?’ Naruto asks.

‘You’ll see.’ The old man says. The rest of the older people judge him in silence for not revealing the truth right there.

‘What are you talking about?’ Naruto’s face is close. His eyes are wide.

‘In other words, you are the one that murdered Iruka’s family. You are the nine tailed fox that destroyed the village!’ The world around Naruto seems to stop. Only Mizuki’s voice continues. ‘Until our beloved hero the fourth Hokage trapped you in that form.’ Mizuki screams out.

‘What does he mean?’ Naruto asks again. He was starting to get frustrated. The rest of the kids stand with Naruto on this.

‘When you were born the fox attacked. The fourth Hokage gave his life to seal it away into you.’ Itachi explains. The rest of the adults look at him, but he does not get any reprimands.

‘Why would he do that?’ Ino asks. To her it just sounds cruel, and she despises people that would put such things on others.

‘He believed Naruto could learn to control its power.’ The aged Hokage explains. The adults let out a sigh. Now that’s over. Shikamaru however does not believe that’s all to the story but he doesn’t have all the pieces yet. Maybe if they continue watching he’ll figure it out.

‘Stop it!’ Iruka screams as loud as he can. It has no effect however.

‘Since then you’ve been made a fool of by everyone in town!’ The screen shows Naruto surrounded by villagers. Mizuki takes out a giant shuriken and starts spinning it around his hand. ‘Didn’t you think it was strange? To be so despised everywhere you went? Even Iruka would admit to hating you if he were honest!’ The view cuts to Iruka breathing shallow fast breaths. ‘You never experienced a parent’s love, you’ve always been shunned by the village. No one will ever accept you. To make matters even worse, that scroll you stole was used to confine you.’ Mizuki throws the giant weapon. It reaches for Naruto. But right before it hits it’s stopped. Instead of impaling Naruto, Iruka blocks the blow with his own body. The star is plunged inside his back.

‘Sensei!’ A couple of the kids scream out.

‘Damn that Mizuki.’ Iruka balls his fists. To think he thought of the man as a friend. He’ll have to leave him behind as soon as possible.

Iruka spits out some blood on Naruto’s face. Naruto looks up at the man that saved his life. ‘Why’d you save me?’

A flashback starts. Iruka is seen as a young teen. ‘With my parents gone there was no one to praise me. I was so lonely.’ Iruka is shown surrounded by various families. ‘I became the class clown to gain attention. Being the class clown was better than being a nobody.’ Iruka is shown goofing around an exercise. The mood then darkens when the scene changes to an empty room. Only Iruka is seen sitting inside. ‘It hurt so much.’

‘This is kind of personal…’ Iruka mutters.

‘I highly doubt you’re going to be the only one.’ They had seen something from Naruto’s side already. It won’t be surprising if they got to see more scenes like this.

‘Don’t worry sensei. It only makes you look cooler!’ Naruto shoots him a thumbs up. The rest of the class make sounds of agreement.

‘Thank you, kids.’ These kids are precious. Iruka loves them all. There are a couple people in the room however that are getting a little jealous of Iruka.

‘On a related note I still remember that day you fell during the exercise.’ Shisui tries to get the attention somewhere else, or else Itachi might snap.

‘You shut up.’ Iruka says to him with a playful tone.

‘You two were classmates?’ Sakura asks.

‘For a bit.’

Next up Iruka is seen crying above Naruto. The tears are bouncing of Naruto’s skin. ‘I know that, Naruto. I was so hard on you, it must have hurt. If I’d been a better teacher, a better person, maybe neither of us would have come to this.’ The screen then turns to Naruto again. Naruto looks around. While at first, he was shocked it’s not replaced with something else. Naruto shifts his position and quickly makes a run for it.

‘What is Naruto doing?’ Hinata asks. As much as she admires Naruto this movement of his confuses her. Naruto is not one to leave people behind.

‘Something smart.’ Shikamaru says.

Mizuki hops down from the tree he was standing on. ‘What a pity. He’s going to use the scroll to take his revenge on the village.’ Mizuki sneers at Iruka. ‘Did you see the look in his eyes? Those were the eyes of the demon fox.’

‘Is he blind?’ Neji asks. He’s seen hateful eyes before, Naruto’s eyes weren’t like that at all.

Iruka pulls the shuriken from his back. ‘You don’t know Naruto at all.’

‘I don’t have to know the boy to kill him. It’s the scroll I’m after now. I’ll finish you later.’ And Mizuki disappears from sight as well.

The last thing they see is Iruka slowly standing up. ‘You can try.’

‘Whoa. Sensei is a badass.’ Chouji mutters out while still taking bites of the bag of potato chips.

‘I’ll take that as a complement.’ Iruka rubs the back of his head. He’s not the best ninja there is. His tutoring skills are the only thing he has some confidence in.

‘I wonder what happens next.’ Ino leans closer to the screen. She has never seen her Sensei so cool. It makes him shine in a new light.

The screen fades to black. Next up Iruka is seen chasing Naruto. ‘Give me the scroll! It’s what Mizuki’s after!’ he yells. Naruto turns around and promptly hits Iruka. Iruka stands up. ‘What’s wrong Naruto?’ Iruka is then covered in smoke and reveals that he’s actually Mizuki. ‘How’d you know I wasn’t Iruka?’

Naruto grins. Then he too is covered in smoke. ‘Because I am Iruka!’ And Iruka is revealed laying against a tree.

‘Classic.’ Kakashi says.

Jiraiya agrees. ‘If it works, why change it?’

Mizuki’s eyes twitches. He then slowly walks up to Iruka. ‘So noble! Saving your parents’ murderer, and for what? What happens if we let him live?’ he says.

Iruka is taking none of it. ‘Then maybe the scroll is safe from a complete scumbag.’

‘You tell him!’ Naruto yells at the screen. It’s a bit too loud for some of the people.

‘You’re a fool. Naruto and I are two of a kind.’ Mizuki explains.

‘I’m really starting to believe this guy is blind.’ Neji mutters again.

‘More blind than Auntie Takako, that’s for sure.’ Sasuke agrees with him. It gets a snort from the other Uchiha.

‘Who?’

‘One of the blind elders in the clan.’ Sasuke explains with the smuggest smile on his face. It receives a good laughter from the rest of the people.

‘What?’ Iruka doesn’t think so.

‘I can use that scroll to achieve the same kind of limitless power!’ There is a power-hungry smile on his face. ‘The demon within him hungers for that kind of strength. You were right to despise him.’ Iruka coughs up some more blood.

Meanwhile Naruto is sitting behind a tree nearby. He holds the scroll to his chest. So, it’s true, Iruka-sensei really does hate me.

‘I really don’t Naruto.’ Iruka reassures the boy. Naruto is still shaking in his chair, even if he tries to make himself look stronger.

‘Thanks Sensei. You’re the best.’ He smiles but Iruka can tell it’s not a full one.

‘Maybe I do hate the fox,’ Iruka stammers out, ‘but not Naruto.’ Then the screen focusses on Naruto’s reaction. A look of shock crosses Naruto’s face. ‘For him I have nothing but respect. He’s an excellent student, always does his best. But sometimes he messes up, he’s scorned and mocked by people, but it’s given him empathy. He knows what it’s like to be in pain.’ Naruto hugs the scroll even closer to his chest. He’s crying by now. ‘Naruto is no longer the demon fox. He’s a citizen of Konohagakure, Uzumaki Naruto!’ A shot of Naruto’s close up face is shown. The boy is crying his eyes out.

‘I really want to hug you now.’ Itachi states all of a sudden. The other people look at him surprised. Itachi loving another little boy? That’s not Sasuke? Impossible.

‘What are you waiting for?’ Mikoto says to her son. She too resists the urge to hug Naruto, his mother had been a good friend of hers.

‘Good question.’ Itachi stands up and walks over to Naruto. He puts his arms around the boy and seats him on his lap.

‘Let me go!’ Naruto protests at the love he’s been given. The other kids only laugh at him. Even Sasuke is not complaining.

Mizuki scoffs. ‘That’s so sweet. Just hearing you say that makes me feel warm and fuzzy.’ Iruka coughs out some more blood. By now the grass in front of him is covered in it. ‘Well Iruka. I had planned to save you for last, but sometimes things just don’t work out the way you plan. So,’ Mizuki takes out another giant shuriken and goes for the man. ‘Say goodbye!’ He screams out.

‘NO!’ comes a scream from one of the kids. It warms Iruka’s heart that they care so much about him.

So, this is it… On Iruka’s face is not a look of fear but instead one of content. There is a smile peeking through. But before Mizuki could hit Iruka he gets kicked away. Naruto darts in front of his favorite teacher and takes a stand. The scroll is still in his hands.

‘Keep away from Iruka or I’ll kill you!’ The last words are growled out. Naruto is emanating bloodlust right now.

‘I never knew Naruto could be a badass.’ Sasuke taunts the other boy. Teasing Naruto is one of his favorite pastimes after all.

‘Teme!’

‘You should’ve stayed away! Get out of here!’ Iruka screams out at the boy.

Mizuki laughs. ‘Loudmouth brat! I can kill you with one blow!’

Naruto is not taunted by the response he got. ‘Bring it on you jerk! Anything you throw at me I’ll give back a thousand times.’ He makes a sign with his hands, ready to perform a new jutsu he learned.

‘You’re welcome to try!’ Mizuki screams out.

‘Shadow clone technique!’ And before he knows it the clearing is filled to the brim with a thousand copies of Naruto. Mizuki looks around him, the look of confidence he had previously is replaced by a look of panic.

‘Holy s-moly.’ Jiraiya changes what he was about to say the last second, lest he gets it from angry mothers.

‘That’s a shit ton of chakra.’ Hiashi mutters. He knows how much the shadow clone technique asks of a person.

‘What do you mean?’ Naruto asks.

‘The shadow clone technique is known as a forbidden technique for the reason that it costs too much chakra.’ Kakashi explains. ‘Even I when I give my all can only make about 5.’

‘Then Naruto has a lot of chakra.’ Lee mutters. Compared to that he has nothing, as in literally nothing. Does this mean he can’t be a ninja? No that can’t be true, he is in this room for a reason.

‘That’s one way to put it.’

‘How did he?’ Mizuki’s voice is higher than it was before.

Naruto grins and taunts the man. ‘What’s the matter big guy! I thought you were going to kill me with one punch!’

‘I like this kid.’ Jiraiya laughs.

‘Naruto you…’ Iruka watches from the sidelines as Naruto gets ready for an attack.

‘Well then I’ll just have to attack you.’ Naruto goes all out on the other man. Punches and kicks are thrown.

Iruka can only watch with amazement. ‘Naruto really does have amazing potential. It wouldn’t surprise me if some day he really does turn out to be better than any Hokage who’s come before.’ Then the scene ends.

‘I’ll make sure of it!’ Naruto does a fist pump in the air.

Sasuke smiles again. ‘You have to beat me first.’

‘One day I will.’ A yelling match was about to start between the two boys, like it has done plenty of times before.

‘Boys quiet down please.’ Mikoto rushes in before it can escalate.

‘Yes mom.’

‘That last scene certainly offered a lot more information than the ones before.’ Shikaku says to the adults. Most of their conversations are separate from the kids, they don’t have enough experience to make decisions about the future yet.

‘What are we going to do about Mizuki though?’ Iruka throws in. Mizuki hasn’t done anything yet. They can’t punish someone for something they haven’t yet done.

‘I’ll have some people investigate him once this is all over.’ The Hokage says.

‘Are you sure you won’t have to talk to Naruto right now?’ Tsume says. She has seen the sheer panic in the kid’s stature. And as the kid’s legal guardian it should fall to the Hokage to console him.

‘Just look at the boy.’ Mikoto agrees with her fellow mom.

Naruto notices the people staring at him. ‘The people do all these mean things to me because there is a giant fur ball in my stomach?’

‘That’s what it boils down to.’ Shisui says. He’s never been one to openly be mean to the kid, but that doesn’t change the fact that he has gone out of his way to avoid him. If he ran into the boy he wouldn’t throw stares or the like, he’ll just walk away like nothing is happening.

‘What kind of things do they do to you?’ Itachi says to the boy that’s still on his lap.

‘They won’t let me shop in their shops or play with the other kids.’ Naruto explains. Just the other day a man had shoved him out of the clothing shop. He really needed some new shirts.

‘Good thing that from now on you’re my little brother too.’ Itachi gives the boy another hug. This doesn’t sit quite right with Sasuke.

‘Nii-san!’ he takes his brother’s arm and tries to pull it away.

‘I have to object to that.’ Kakashi walks up and picks Naruto right out of Itachi’s embrace. ‘Naruto is my little brother already.’

‘Why?’ Naruto asks. Even Itachi has a confused look on his face.

‘Maybe you’ll find out later.’ Kakashi says to the two of them.

‘Okay.’ Then Naruto suddenly glares at the other. ‘Then why haven’t I seen you before.’

‘But you have.’ Kakashi smiles. Naruto doesn’t like that. He doesn’t remember this strange Kakashi guy. This is the first time he’s seen him.

‘When?’ he asks.

‘I’ll leave you to figure that out on your own.’ Meanwhile Itachi knows how Kakashi has seen Naruto without Naruto knowing. Through ANBU.

‘Meanie.’

‘Shisui how are your notes going?’ the Hokage asks the boy.

Shisui takes another look at his notes. ‘Alright. It’s just that nothing we’ve seen so far really connects in any way.’ By far the most frustrating thing is that they get no context on any of the scenes they watch. They’ll have to figure everything out themselves.

‘That could be a problem.’ Inoichi says.

‘There is that red cloud organization. But also, Madara and the ten tails.’ The adults nod along. ‘I don’t know what to make of that or how they are connected.’

‘If they are connected.’ Inoichi adds. Shisui halts his thoughts.

‘You have a point there.’

Notes:

Crossdressing boy -> mystery man

Madara (with rinnegan) & dead Hokage are alive

Red cloud organization
Members: - Deidara
- Sasori
Captured a random dude with red hair (Naruto cares about that guy)

Mizuki is evil

Kakashi’s real face is still a mystery :(
Kakashi is teacher of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura

The screen lights up again. This time displaying the title: ‘skipping stones’.

‘What does that mean?’ Kiba asks.

‘Maybe we’ll see some awesomely powerful ninja throwing giant rocks at each other.’ Naruto imagines with wild movements. He’s back on his seat with no people underneath.

‘Somehow I doubt that.’ Shikamaru tells him. Naruto pouts.

Chapter Text

The scene starts with a look at a lake. There is a young boy standing near the edge of the water. He’s wearing some rather old-fashioned outfit. He reaches down and picks up a stone.

‘I wonder who that is.’ Naruto says to the group. He gets no response.

‘This time I’ll reach it for sure.’ But before he can throw the stone another stone flies past. It skips a couple of times on the water before making it to the other side. The boy looks behind him to see who threw the stone.

Behind him is another boy, the difference being his ridiculous haircut. ‘Just aim it a little higher than you would expect.’ The boy smiles. ‘That’s the trick.’

‘He looks ridiculous.’ Neji doesn’t laugh but if he was any less stiff he would’ve.

‘This might be the first fragment we see of the past.’ Shikamaru says. There are plenty others that agree with him.

‘Why?’ Naruto asks.

‘Look at their clothes. That’s not something we wear nowadays.’ Naruto takes another good look and finds himself agreeing with the other boy. It doesn’t change the fact that the second boy’s hairstyle is awful.

The first boy looks at the other in disgust. ‘I don’t need you to tell me that. It will reach the other side if I put my all into it!’ He turns to look at the other boy. ‘Who the hell are you anyway?’

The other boy hums. ‘Right now, I’m just your rival at stone skipping.’ The boy smirks. ‘Though mine has reached the other side.’

There is a moment of silence before an older voice starts narrating. ‘That was the first time I encountered Uchiha Madara.’ There is another pause in which they look at the boys from above.

‘Who’s speaking?’ Sakura asks the others around her. No one can answer that question without getting to look at the person. But with the words spoken they can rule out a good amount of people.

‘Why is there a narrator?’ Fugaku instead asks. But he too is met with silence. A narrator would suggest that this is story being told rather than something happening in the present.

‘From what he said we can conclude that the first boy is Madara.’ Shikaku says. The others agree.

‘I asked who you are!’ the boy named Madara shouts at the other.

‘It’s Hashirama. I can’t tell you my last name due to reasons.’ Hashirama laughs at the other.

‘Are we witnessing a legendary moment or what?’ Shisui mutters. He’s heard about it. It’s one of the great stories that always get told around festivities but to see it happen in front of him is certainly something else. There is a lot less embellishment.

‘I think we are.’ Itachi stares at the screen, eyes not leaving it for a second. He too must be a little taken.

‘Hashirama, eh?’ Madara turns to face the river again. He gets himself ready to throw the stone. ‘Just watch. I’m gonna make it this time.’ He reaches his arm back and throws the stone with a familiar sound.

The way he throws… it’s the shuriken jutsu! Hashirama thinks. The stone that has been thrown doesn’t make it all the way to the other side. Instead it disappears in the flowing river.

‘He sucks at stone skipping.’ Sasuke laughs. He can only do that because he does know how to skip stones, it’s one of his favorite pastimes.

‘Does that count as a weakness?’ Naruto asks.

Shikamaru scoffs. ‘I doubt it.’

This cuts to the stumped faces of the boys. Madara is sweating before he turns to Hashirama again. ‘You stood behind me on purpose to distract me!’ Hashirama in turn winces backwards. ‘I’m the type that can’t even pee when someone’s standing behind me!’ Madara shouts at the other boy who’s getting more panicked by the second.

‘This might be an actual weakness we can exploit.’ Sasuke nods wisely.

Naruto laughs at him. ‘Yeah. Let me take a piss when I’m taking over the world in the middle of a battle.’

‘Not like that.’ Sasuke glares at the other boy but doesn’t say anything else. He doesn’t want to disrupt the watching.

Then Hashirama falls down to the ground with a depressive aura surrounding him. ‘S-sorry.’ He stammers out. Madara just watches in astonishment.

‘Is this seriously the first?’ Mikoto asks. Her eyes are wide, she doesn’t quite believe what she’s seeing. She did not think he was such a person.

‘Don’t worry. He did that a lot.’ The Hokage assured them. It only did the opposite though.

‘Why were people scared of him?’ Hiashi mutters with his head in his hands. He too has heard plenty of stories of the man but to think he was such an idiot.

‘Don’t take it so seriously…’ Madara tries to soothe the boy. ‘I was just making excuses.’

‘I didn’t know…’ There is a banging sound. ‘That you had such an obnoxious self-diagnosed neurosis.’

‘A what?’ Naruto asks. But he doesn’t get a response.

‘I can’t tell if you’re a nice guy or a nasty guy!’ Madara points at Hashirama, who stands up again and laughs happily.

‘One thing’s for sure! I’m better than you at stone skipping!’ he teases Madara, who gets pissed off not long after.

‘Want me to skip you instead?’ And Hashirama’s depressive mood is back in full force.

‘They really have a strange dynamic going on.’ Inoichi says. As he works as a part time therapist at points he has seen some strange dynamics. This is one of the weirder ones.

‘It’s like they’ve been friends for a long time.’ Shikaku agrees.

‘I didn’t mean to upset you.’ He says. ‘To make amends, I’ll let you throw me into the river.’ Madara’s eye twitches. ‘Go ahead and throw me.’

‘Do you even notice your own obnoxious neurosis?’ he stammers out.

‘I just hope I reach the opposite shore.’ Hashirama says as he makes a funny voice. Madara does not think it’s funny though.

‘I highly doubt that.’ By no matter of physics should that ever make any sense. Neji sighs. He might be the first Hokage but he’s an idiot. Fate should’ve deemed him too stupid to survive.

‘Who knows. They say idiots float.’ Tenten laughs.

‘Don’t call the first an idiot.’ Ino says to the other girl.

‘It’s fine. Everyone called him that.’ Naruto says. He’s heard plenty of stories from the Old Man about the man.

‘You’re a real eyesore! Get lost!’ Madara shouts at the boy. Who gets up a second later.

‘Well goodbye then.’ As he turns to leave Madara grabs him by the shoulders.

‘Wait a second!’

‘Madara is a walking contradiction, isn’t he?’ Shisui laughs. He never in his life thought he would get the opportunity to ridicule Madara but now that he has he’s going to take advantage of it.

‘Sounds about right.’ Kakashi agrees.

‘Which is it? Why don’t you be more clear?’ Just as Madara was about to object a body floats past in the river. Hashirama walks over the water to get closer to investigate. At this moment Madara realizes the boy is also a ninja.

‘Gross.’ Lee mutters from the side.

‘Sadly, it’s more common that you think.’

‘Are you a ninja?’

‘This location will become a battlefield soon. Go home.’ Hashirama mutters out. He takes a look at the body. This is a Hagoromo clan crest… ‘Sorry, but I’ve got to go.’ He jumps up to the other side of the river and is about to say goodbye. ‘Uh?’

‘My name is Madara.’ Madara smirks. ‘Not proffering one’s family name to a stranger is ninja law.’

‘Really?’ Naruto asks. He does want to be known over countries after all.

‘Back then it was.’ The Hokage explains. ‘Nowadays with the improvement of technology and the existence of pictures it’s not that big of a deal.’

‘I never knew that.’ And Naruto wasn’t the only one. Most of the older ninjas in the room didn’t know either. It’s a rule long since abandoned ever since hidden villages became a thing.

‘I knew it. You’re a ninja too?’

Then all of a sudden, the screen gets a white light covering it, and the adult voice starts narrating again. ‘Our personalities differed, and yet I sensed a mysterious connection with him. I felt I knew why he’d come down to the river too.’ Then the scene ends.

‘Mysterious connection, how mysterious.’ Chouji says as he takes another bite of another treat he managed to get for himself.

‘Really?’ Naruto glances at Chouji. Did the boy have to say that? Naruto has felt plenty of mysterious connections before. Like with Sasuke, and Kakashi, and people working at Ichiraku.

‘That certainly was something I’d never thought I’d see.’ Tsume says. She has put her dog on her lap, no matter how much that obscured her vision.

‘A meeting that would eventually allow them to put aside their differences and create the first hidden village.’ Fugaku agrees.

‘But does it have anything to do with the future?’ Chouza asks. He—like his son—has some sort of treat in his hands that he continuously takes some food from.

‘Considering that they are present during the future it might be something important.’ Shikaku says. A part of him is bothered that the device can’t give them the information in order, it would certainly make things a lot easier.

‘It was pretty entertaining too.’ Shisui laughs. ‘In my opinion.’ He responds after receiving some weird looks. ‘I always thought they would be super stuck up or something, like most old people. But they were just stupid kids too.’

‘I’m fairly certain they remained that way.’ The elderly Hokage mutters but everyone caught it.

‘I wonder what’s next.’ Naruto is bouncing on his seat already. He hopes it’s him doing something epic, like saving a princess.

‘Let’s see.’ They all turn to look at the screen.

The screen lights up once again, this time displaying the title: ‘The smooch of the century.’

‘Are we talking about a kissing smooch?’ Shisui darts his eyes around the room. He does not think there is anyone here that would go and make their kiss super important.

‘I hope so.’ Tenten laughs. She would love to see some romance.

‘I hope it’s super romantic!’ Ino can already see it in front of her. She and Sasuke.

‘Ino, put your fantasies on a halt.’ Sakura says as she gives her friends a small punch.

Naruto and Sasuke are glaring at each other as the rest of the class watches. Several of Sasuke’s fangirls are defending him.

‘I wonder what they got into an argument over.’ Shino says in complete monotone. No one really takes any notice of him.

‘I hope this is going the way I want it to.’ Shisui is pretty much bouncing in his seat. As soon as he saw the two boys on screen he has an inkling as to where this is going.

‘Leave Sasuke alone!’ Sakura screams at Naruto. Naruto doesn’t take any mind.

‘Wow. She’s a fangirl.’ Jiraiya mutters. He’s dealt with them a lot over the years and they never cease to not scar him.

‘I’m right here.’ Sakura glares at the pervert.

‘Sorry.’ Jiraiya says. He then mutters to himself. ‘I hope she gets over it.’

Naruto and Sasuke lean even closer to each other, the sparks are flying between the two of them. Another group of fangirls jump in for Sasuke.

‘Hit him Sasuke!’

‘How many does he have?’ The Uchiha are known for their large following fangirls but this is a lot even for them.

Naruto and Sasuke keep on glaring at each other. Until suddenly the boy behind Naruto accidently hits him. Naruto falls forward, right onto Sasuke. Their lips touch in most extravagant fashion. Sakura, Ino and the other fangirls watch on in horror.

The reactions are instantaneous. Naruto and Sasuke pale, like really pale. They glance at each other but then quickly turn away. The others in the room are nearly bursting with laughter.

‘Oh my!’ Tenten laughs. This might not be what she hoped for, but this is good too.

‘This is awesome.’ Ino’s inner yaoi fangirl surfaces. Her father however is quite disturbed by his daughter. She’s too young to be thinking these things.

‘Ino!’

‘How dare he.’ Itachi mutters. ‘Sasuke is mine.’ Shisui glances at his friend and nearly bursts out laughing at the dark look on his face.

‘He’s your little brother.’ Kakashi says with his half-read book in front of him. Why would he be reading now?

‘Naruto you piece of crap. You are so dead!’ Sasuke tries to desperately clean his mouth of the taste of Naruto.

‘That’s prince charming for ya.’ Jiraiya laughs. He’s just glad he never got into that situation with Orochimaru.

‘Poison my mouth is ruined!’ Naruto coughs a couple of times until he stills. Why am I sensing bloodlust?

‘Oh dear.’ Hiashi says. He knows where this is going. He has been in the same situation once.

‘I would suggest running Naruto.’ Mikoto laughs. Her son is so handsome.

‘It hasn’t happened yet!’ Naruto yells at the rest of the room. They only laugh harder.

‘Naruto…’ Sakura cracks her knuckles. Her face is blank with anger.

‘It was an accident! I swear!’ Naruto tries to defend himself, but it has no effect.

‘Like saying that is going to do anything.’ Jiraiya mutters. With all the experience from Tsunade he knows where this is going.

‘You make me sick.’ Then they hear the sounds of punches being thrown over a shot of the village.

‘Rest in peace.’ Sasuke laughs.

Chouji plays into the act as well. ‘It was nice knowing you.’

‘Stop joking. I was around even further in the future.’ Naruto yells at the other kids.

‘Be glad I let you live.’ Sasuke sticks out his tongue.

‘That was certainly something.’ The adults all had the same thought. It did not help one bit with the future.

‘I wish I didn’t have to witness that.’ Sakura says. Not only did it show her in a bad light, it was pretty cruel.

Shisui meanwhile turns to Itachi again. The boy still has that dark look on his face. ‘Itachi stop plotting your revenge.’

‘I’m not doing that.’ Itachi blinks and the darkness is gone. Back is the innocent looking boy.

‘Then what are you doing?’

‘Planning the wedding.’ Itachi explains.

‘Like hell I’m going to marry him!’ Sasuke shouts at his brother. No way. He’s not going to marry anyone ever. Girls are gross.

‘He took your first kiss. Which means you should get married.’ Itachi explains to his little brother.

‘I don’t think that’s how it works.’ Shisui says to his friend.

‘Then how does it?’ Itachi asks with the most adorable look on his face.

‘Uh… Not that way.’ Does Itachi really not know?

‘Let’s just move on.’ Kakashi says. Then they turn to the screen once again.

‘A beautiful friendship.’ Is what the screen displays this time. No one had any idea what it meant.

‘I wonder if it’s serious this time.’ Shikamaru says out loud. He’s been getting tired of all these funny ones. He wants progress.

‘Or if it’s just as ironic as the one before.’ Neji agrees with the other boy. He might think Shikamaru is the only other intelligent one there.

‘Right.’

‘Hello again.’ A strange boy says. He’s rather boring looking, pale skin, black hair, nothing you haven’t seen before. He’s also quite handsome. Not to mention the strange smile on his face.

‘You!’ Naruto points at the other guy. Sakura looks at Naruto is surprise. Does he know that guy?

‘Can anyone tell me who that guy is?’ Sakura asks. She’s never seen him before.

‘One of them is Naruto. The other I don’t know.’ Kakashi says. Everyone turns to look at him. Kakashi doesn’t react.

‘Jeez.’ Neji says. ‘Anyone else?’

‘Nothing comes to mind.’ No one seems to know this boy. Yet he’s somehow important in the future.

‘Future Naruto seems to recognize him.’ Shikamaru says. It’s the only hint they have as to who this boy is.

‘Not in a good way.’

‘So… uhm… starting today I’ll be filling in for Kakashi.’ A man with another plain looking face says.

‘I do know that guy.’ Kakashi says. ‘His name is Tenzo.’ He’s worked with him before, though not always in the best circumstances.

‘And he’s your replacement.’ Naruto nods. He didn’t think Kakashi would be that good of a teacher, especially with how good of a brother he was.

‘Fill in. There’s a difference.’ Kakashi says. Naruto shrugs. Same difference.

‘Naruto you know this guy?’ Sakura asks.

‘Sorry about our earlier encounter.’ The boy starts explaining. ‘I was just curious to see how strong my future teammate might be,’ the smile on his face does not falter, ‘and whether or not I’d eventually have to come to the little boy’s aid.’

‘That’s not very nice.’ Chouji says. He would never say such a thing to anyone.

‘So, he’s an asshole.’ Naruto says as he leans further back in his chair. ‘Great, as if Sasuke wasn’t bad enough.’ Sasuke only shoots him a glare.

‘What!’ Naruto shouts at the guy. ‘Hey! We have to work together, so don’t fight right from the get-go!’ He makes some exaggerated gestures at the guy.

‘And you, that wasn’t very nice.’ Sakura says to the boy.

‘Really? But I like ugly girls like you.’ The strange boy says with a smile on his face.

‘Either this guy really is an asshole, or he’s got zero social skills.’ Shisui says. Itachi agrees.

‘I’m willing to bet it’s both.’

‘What did you just say!’ Sakura is ready to go for the attack. The boy might not know but she’s strong and she doesn’t like being insulted.

‘Whoa! Easy Sakura!’ Tenzo says as he holds the girl to prevent her from attacking the guy. ‘Follow your own advice.’

‘Don’t worry, I would have gone after him as well.’ Ino says to her friend. Sakura looks at her gratefully.

‘I think we should talk about proper social skills soon.’ It’s not like that boy is the only one lacking, Iruka thinks.

‘There wasn’t much to that.’ Inoichi says. Most of the others agree. So far not a lot of the fragments had given them that much information. Most actually had been more for entertainment. Maybe all the serious stuff would come later.

‘Other than the information that at some point Kakashi isn’t available.’ Shikaku says.

‘I wonder what could’ve caused that?’ Kakashi says. He’s not one to disappear all of a sudden. He is one of the best ninjas in the village for a reason.

‘It might just have been that he’s gone on a mission.’ Shisui tries explaining but his gut tells him otherwise. Something must have happened. At least Kakashi is still alive.

‘I doubt that.’

‘Then there is the fact that Sasuke isn’t there as well.’ Itachi says. Leave it to the older brother to notice that his little brother is missing.

‘You’re right. They are on the same team.’ His father says. The others do agree. It’s nothing unheard of but it’s a little strange.

‘At this point we don’t have enough context to get any answers.’ Shikaku says. The others turn to look at the screen once more.

‘What’s up next?’

‘Earthquake alert.’ The screen displays.

‘Sounds fun.’ Naruto says. He doesn’t like earthquakes at all. They make him pay for stupid things because stuff gets broken all the time.

‘If we want to rebuild our homes that is.’

Sakura’s face is shown up close her eyes dart around her. Right. She looks up. Above. She looks left. Left. Behind. She takes a position for an attack. No sign of him anywhere so… ‘Below!!’ She shouts as she goes for the attack.

‘She’s improved since she was little.’ Jiraiya says in approval.

‘I hope she has.’ Tsume says. She has no respect for fangirls. And if this first little bit is telling she’s grown out of it. Thankfully.

Her punch reaches the ground and the effect is instantaneous. The ground beneath her shatters on impacts, dust flies everywhere and Naruto who’s also on the field has to do an evasive maneuver to avoid the damage.

‘Holy moly!’ Naruto shouts out loud. Sasuke shoves him in the side to quiet him down.

‘We’ve got another Tsunade on our hands.’ Jiraiya says. He hoped that day would never come. Another girl he would have to watch out for.

‘And I was hoping we wouldn’t have to deal with those random earthquakes anymore.’ Hiashi mutters. Tsunade was bad enough.

‘At least we know what kind of training she should be getting.’ The Hokage nods. It’s great that there is someone to follow in Tsunade’s footsteps. If only she didn’t also have the temper.

‘Whoa!’ Naruto is stupefied by the sheer amount of strength his teammate has. His eyes are wide with fear. He just glad it wasn’t aimed at him.

‘What are they doing anyway?’ Sasuke asks.

‘Naruto looks ready to attack as well.’ Shikamaru agrees. There must be something going on, but it doesn’t look super dangerous.

Then they see Kakashi appear from beneath the rubble. What raw power. Looks like medical ninjutsu wasn’t all Tsunade taught you Sakura.

‘Tsunade came back?’ Jiraiya says. He never expected that. She had been pretty adamant at staying away forever.

‘And she took another student.’ Hiruzen says. He seriously thought Shizune would have been the last.

‘Another Tsunade indeed.’ Chouza grumbles. As strong as she was the earthquakes were not something anyone wanted to deal with.

‘I can already feel the headache my future self has.’ Fugaku mutters. Why does this girl have to be on Sasuke’s team? That’s only going to bother him.

Sakura smiles in victory. ‘Found you.’

‘It’s seems it was some sort of training exercise with Kakashi.’ Itachi explains.

Kakashi hides behind his book. ‘I don’t want to fight her anymore.’

‘She must not be angered.’ Shisui agrees.

‘Boy. If what we saw previously is true, then she’s easily angered.’ Jiraiya says.

‘No!’ Shisui weeps. This is only going to be annoying.

Notes:

Crossdressing boy -> mystery man

Madara (with rinnegan) & dead Hokage are alive

Madara and Hashirama met as children (the idiots)
Madara can’t pee with someone behind him -> weakness

Red cloud organization
Members: - Deidara
- Sasori
Captured a random dude with red hair (Naruto cares about that guy)

Mizuki is evil

Kakashi’s real face is still a mystery :(
Kakashi is teacher of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura

Weird socially inept boy is part of Naruto’s team as well as Tenzo (he’s rude)

Sasuke might have a thing for Naruto and vice versa

Kakashi and Sasuke are missing at some point in the future

People to watch out for:

- Madara
- Sakura (don’t piss her off, don’t forget)
- Red cloud people

‘I hope the next scene has more to offer in terms of future progression.’ Shikamaru mutters. He was here to learn not to laugh at Naruto.

‘We all do.’ Iruka says. He still doesn’t quite know what he’s doing here. He’s only been in one scene so far and it wasn’t that impressive.

‘My notes are getting a bit messy.’ Shisui says as he looks over them.

The Hokage sighs. ‘As long as we can still read it it’s fine.’

‘Shall we move on then?’ Kakashi asks. They all nod and turn to the screen again.

The screen lights up again. This time reading the words: ‘Real criminals knock on doors.’

‘No, they don’t.’ Naruto says. Everyone that robbed never came in announced.

‘Not any criminals I know of.’ Itachi has to agree with the boy on that one.

‘Maybe it’s the red cloud organization again.’ Lee says.

‘I hope it is.’

Chapter Text

The scene starts with a look on a door. Naruto is seen opening that door. A man, a bit older than Naruto, appears from the other side. He has the sharingan and is wearing the red cloud outfit. He looks Naruto dead in the eye but doesn’t say anything.

‘He looks familiar.’ Itachi mutters. Most of the people in the room look at him.

‘I wonder.’ Kakashi says. Face still hidden behind his book. The kid is one of the smartest people he knows, he can figure things out in seconds, as long as it doesn’t include himself.

Sasuke? Then Naruto takes another good look at the man. No, it’s not, so Who? He’s got the sharingan like Sasuke. Then another man appears from behind the Uchiha. He’s a lot taller than his partner and most notably has blue skin. He’s also got a sword strapped on his back.

‘Anyone know this guy?’ Naruto asks. The adults look at each other but no one has seen the guy before. The only thing they recognize the Mist headband.

‘I have no idea.’

‘Hard to believe that such a child carries the nine-tails.’ The man speaks in a voice a bit higher than one would expect.

Naruto is shocked. How the heck do these guys know about the nine tails? Naruto doesn’t say anything, he doesn’t even move a muscle.

‘Naruto why don’t you come with us?’ The Uchiha asks. Still Naruto doesn’t respond.

‘A yes, follow two suspicious men will you.’ Sasuke taunts Naruto. He’s a little curious who that Uchiha is but he doubts it’s that significant.

‘Of course, I won’t!’ Naruto yells at his friend.

The shot then changes to show Sasuke running. He is close by I can feel it! Sasuke is desperate for some reason.

‘I wonder if that Uchiha is Itachi.’ Tsume muses. Most of the parents agree with her. It makes sense and there is a sort of resemblance.

‘Then we know what he looks like after his growth spurt.’ Shisui jokes, Itachi isn’t very amused. He’s wearing the red cloud outfit and that’s not something good.

‘Why is Sasuke so desperate though?’ Iruka asks the question everyone is wondering about. Sasuke doesn’t seem particularly happy to have Itachi around, which is strange because he’s always happy to have his brother around.

Then a flashback starts. Little Sasuke is running back home. ‘I won’t lag behind big brother!’ He declares to himself. The full moon shines upon the houses. I stayed behind to throw shuriken so long it’s gotten late. But then Sasuke notices something strange.

‘I suppose we’ll get our explanation.’ Fugaku mutters. If there is a distance between his two sons, it’s not something to be proud of. He has a bad feeling of the screen is about to show him. It’s got to be significant, he can feel it.

It’s a feeling, something is wrong. It feels like he’s being watched. A figure is seen standing on a lone telephone pole, the light of the moon behind making it impossible to discern the person’s features. But then as soon as Sasuke saw it, the man disappeared.

What was that? I thought I saw something just now. The Sasuke is shocked. In front of him bodies line the streets, blood splattered on the walls. ‘Wh-what is this?’ What’s going on?

‘Holy shit!’ Those in the room suddenly lost the color in their faces. This certainly is not a good thing. Judging by the amount of bodies in the streets and blood on the windows it must have been a clan wide slaughter.

‘No way.’ Those of the Uchiha clan are, for the first time while watching, terrified of the future. While it’s the true that the only person of their clan they had seen in the future was Sasuke, nobody expected something like this to happen.

Sasuke quickly starts making his way home. As soon as he enters he throws of his shoes. ‘Father! Mother!’ he yells as he opens the door in front of him.

‘Sasuke don’t come in!’ comes the call of his parents. Sasuke halts in his way. He does dare move forward, something is stopping him from doing so. An unshakable fear takes over him. He forces himself to go on. He has to do something.

‘Please don’t be bad.’ Sasuke is shaking on his chair, he thought this would be another fun thing, that the future would be fun. Not that something like this would happen.

He opens the door with a creak and what he sees will haunt him for the rest of his life. His parents are lying dead on the ground, all life has left their bodies. A figure stands above them. You can’t see his face but he’s looking down.

‘This is not fun.’ Naruto reaches out for his friend. They might bicker a lot but that doesn’t mean they hate each other. From what they are seeing Naruto can’t help but feel horrible. The future isn’t a fun place.

‘Father! Mother!’ Sasuke calls out again but life has left them already.

A close up of the unknown figure appears, his eyes are not yet visible. Until the figure moves to look Sasuke in the eye. It’s Itachi.

‘Itachi why would you do such a thing?’ His mother asks him. She never thought, even in her wildest dreams, that Itachi would go as far to kill them. It simply doesn’t fit his character.

Itachi is confused. ‘I would never do this.’ He tells the rest of the group. By now they are all staring at him like he’s done something bad. In the future he might have but that doesn’t mean that right now he’s bad as well. Like he said, he wouldn’t do something like this, not without a very good reason. It makes him sick.

‘Clearly you just did.’ Kakashi says. He has put his book down and goes over the memories he has of the kid. Nothing bad, he’s a good child that always does his best.

‘It doesn’t happen too far into the future either.’ Shikaku points out. Sasuke is barely older than he is right now.

‘I promise on my life, I would never do such a thing.’ Itachi says one more time. But the only thing he gets in response is looks. He’s never felt so bad for something he hasn’t yet done. Is this what the future has in store for him?

‘Brother!’ Sasuke calls out to him. ‘Big brother. Father and Mother are… Why? How? Who would do such a thing?’ Sasuke cries out to the only figure he knows. Then all of a sudden, the doors shut behind him and Sasuke experiences some strange headache.

‘Foolish little brother.’ Itachi says voice monotone and emotionless but a bit harsher than usual. Sasuke takes a step back. Mangekyo sharingan! As soon as that’s said Sasuke reaches for his head in pain. In him flood the memories of his parents’ final moments, over and over again.

‘What the hell.’ Jiraiya says. He doesn’t know that much about the sharingan, but he knows enough to know that something like that isn’t normal, especially for a boy like him.

‘What just happened?’ Chouji asks. He had put down his food for a bit, after seeing the bodies he lost his appetite.

‘Itachi went crazy.’ Tsume says. Even she is shocked. She hasn’t met the boy that often but from what she heard he was a kind soul, that in matter of ideals doesn’t belong in the ninja business.

‘How the heck did he get the mangekyo?’ Fugaku points out. The rest of the group look at him, unfamiliar with the term but he doesn’t explain.

‘I don’t want to know.’ Shisui mutters. He doesn’t wish that fate on Itachi, ever. And seeing what it did to him, he must never get it. Not if it messed up his mind this badly.

‘Seeing my own dead body.’ Mikoto says. ‘I never thought I would.’

‘It must be strange.’ Hiashi agrees, he has gotten a glimpse at what it would look like when his twin died, but that was still a different person. To see yourself dying. What kind of feeling must that give.

‘Stop it.’ Sasuke cries out. ‘Don’t show me such things!’ Sasuke starts crying. ‘NO! Itachi! Stop it!’ The cries continue on and on. No stopping it. Then the flashback ends.

‘Where was I during all of this?’ Shisui asks the room. He has noticed his absence. He would like to think of himself as important enough to have been shown but it clearly wasn’t. Could Itachi really have killed him just like that?

‘I would never kill you either.’ Itachi reassures him, but also himself. ‘I don’t like this fragment.’ He looks down. Itachi might not emote that well but now his sadness is clear to everyone looking at him.

The screen goes back to Naruto and Itachi. ‘Why don’t you step out of the room?’ Itachi asks the bewildered boy.

These guys, they’re not ordinary. But Naruto steps forward nonetheless.

‘Smart.’ Shikamaru snorts.

‘Oh, shut up.’ Naruto yells at the other. Now is not the time to mention his lacking intelligence.

‘Itachi. It would be bothersome to have him wandering off, perhaps we should cut off one of his legs or something?’ The shark guy says as he grabs his sword.

‘He’s from the Mist. Probably one of the seven swordsmen if that sword is anything to go by.’ Chouza says. It makes the others think.

‘That’s not a good sign either.’ The hokage mumbles. While throughout his years he has seen plenty of bloodbaths, he’s never seen something like the massacre they’ve just witnessed. He agrees wholeheartedly that it must be prevented if possible.

‘What!’ Naruto says. He doesn’t quite believe his eyes. Itachi doesn’t say anything, so the man grabs his sword and raises it just a bit. Naruto gulps, he can feel his heart beating in his chest.

‘Long time no see Sasuke.’ Itachi says. The shark guy is shocked as he looks behind him.

‘This is not going to be pretty.’ Shino says. He’s still as composed as he always is. It’s a Shino thing, it makes people forget he’s there in the first place. Not that what’s happening doesn’t affect him.

‘Mommy. Can I sit with you?’ Sasuke asks his mother. He’s scared of what’s about to happen.

‘Of course, sweetheart.’ Sasuke walks over to his mother and sits down on her lap. He takes in all the comfort he can, if she dies in the future he won’t be able to do that anymore.

Sasuke stands there, visibly holding himself back. ‘Uchiha Itachi.’

‘My, my. Today is truly is an unusual day indeed. To be able to see other sharingan, not just once but twice.’

Sasuke stands there, unmoving. Until a shot of his face appears. There is no emotion on his face. ‘I will kill you.’ Sasuke’s eyes are wide, sharingan spinning.

‘What the heck happened to cute little Sasuke?’ Iruka says. He loves all his students, they’re just so adorable. But the Sasuke right here has lost all of it. He’s purely motivated by anger.

‘Itachi that is.’ Kakashi tells the teacher. He can understand where Sasuke is coming from, if he could he would’ve gotten revenge on the various injustices in his life as well. But he found out the hard way that revenge doesn’t change anything. It only made him sadder.

‘I would’ve never let it get like this.’ Shisui balls his fists. He’s not liking what he sees one bit. If he just was there, then he could do something. Make sure that Sasuke doesn’t get like that.

‘I won’t ever do such a thing either.’ Itachi says. His voice is softer than usual, saddened by the things the screen is showing. If only that Itachi could remain.

‘We believe it when we see it.’ Tsume says. Itachi feels even more shame.

Naruto looks at the scene with wide eyes. Uchiha Itachi? Naruto suddenly feels really small compared to the figures in front of him. The same Uchiha as Sasuke… ‘Who are these people? What are they?’ Naruto asks.

‘Why doesn’t he know?’ Hiashi asks.

‘Naruto is an idiot.’ Is the explanation he gets from Sasuke.

‘Hey!’

The blue skinned man starts talking again. ‘Sharingan and he looks an awful lot like you. Who is that kid Itachi?’ Sasuke glares at the back of his brother.

‘He’s my brother.’ Itachi says without as much as a blink. Naruto is shocked, sweat starts covering his face.

‘Funny, cuz the whole Uchiha clan was wiped out the way I heard it.’ The blue skinned man says. ‘By you.’ The look on both Uchihas darkens. Naruto remembers the time they had to introduce themselves in front of Kakashi and Sasuke declared that he has someone to kill. Then to the wave where Sasuke was wounded in his hands, pushing the goal onto Naruto.

‘No wonder Sasuke is a little crazy.’ Iruka says. He’s lost his parents as well and he felt defeated after that. ‘To have your entire family killed by your older brother.’ If he could he would’ve beaten the nine-tails to a pulp as well.

‘I don’t want this to happen.’ Sakura says. Ino agrees with her. Something like this should never have to happen.

So, this is the guy Sasuke was talking about. Naruto’s eyes narrow in determination. The one he wants to kill.

‘And they used to be so close.’ Mikoto looks at her children. She loves the relationship they have. They’re always so happy to be together. Why has to gotten to that point? Did she mess up?

‘Why would Itachi go insane?’ Sasuke sniffles in his mother’s arms. She holds him a little tighter in response.

‘We will prevent this from happening.’ Fugaku says determined. For the sake of his family.

Then the two brothers engage in a stare off. Sharingan spinning, no other emotions on their faces. Then another flashback stars. It continues right after the last one ended.

Sasuke is screaming on the ground as the images flood his mind. He falls to the ground with blank eyes, forgetting where he was. There is a line of drool leaving his mouth. Then Sasuke takes another good look at the room he’s in and he remembers where he is. His eyes slowly focus on Itachi.

‘Why would you hurt me like that?’ Sasuke asks his brother.

If the look of heartbreak in Itachi’s eyes is anything to go by. ‘I wouldn’t…’ He’s stressed out.

‘Itachi, you alright?’ Shisui asks his friend. While future Itachi might be a little insane, the Itachi right here is still his close friend and he can see that he truly feels bad for the things his future self has done.

‘I don’t know why I would do such a thing. I don’t want to do it.’ Shisui reaches out and gives his friend a hug, he needs it. ‘What if it can’t be prevented?’

‘It can. I’ll make sure of it.’

‘Why did you?’ Sasuke manages to get out. His voice is cracking. Itachi stares Sasuke down, eyes returning to their normal color.

‘To measure my capacity.’ Itachi says with a straight face, maybe a tad to straight.

‘Like killing a bunch of babies is going to do that.’ Shikaku says. While it’s true that what he’s seeing is a tragedy, he can’t help but feel that there is something he’s missing.

‘Measure your capacity? That’s it?’ Sasuke says, he’s not crying, the tears don’t fall. Itachi doesn’t respond. ‘That’s the only reason for killing everybody?’ Drool is still leaving his mouth.

Itachi closes his eyes. ‘I had to.’

‘There might be more to this.’ Shikaku says. The lack of looks of Itachi in the scenes is telling.

‘What makes you think so?’ Inoichi asks.

‘After this is done I’ll tell you.’

Sasuke tries to get up, it’s not as easy as he expected. He’s overcome with emotions. ‘What kind of excuse is that?’ Itachi’s face is dark, his eyes invisible. ‘What’s wrong with you!’ Sasuke screams as he runs of toward his brother. Itachi stops him with ease and Sasuke falls to the ground once again. Right in front of his parents’ bodies. He can see their dead faces and he starts crying. Never would he see them again. I’m scared. The overwhelming feeling of terror reaches his body.

‘Don’t worry Sasuke. I would’ve done the same.’ Naruto tells his friend. Sasuke gives the other a small smile.

‘Poor Sasuke.’ Sakura says.

Sasuke stands up and runs toward the door, to get away as quickly as possible. ‘Waah. Don’t kill me!’ He screams as he opens the door and darts through. Itachi is quick to follow.

‘You are not even worth killing baby brother, you’re pathetic.’ They’re outside now. Sasuke is tired, his legs aren’t able to carry his body anymore. They look at each other. ‘If you want to kill me, hate me. Hate me and live like the coward you are. Clinging to life without honor.’ Those are the last words said before the flashback ends.

‘Why would he tell Sasuke to do that?’ As far as Neji is concerned it’s a stupid thing to ask. If he were in Sasuke’s shoes he would’ve done the exact opposite, just to spite the other.

‘It does seem a little strange.’ Tenten agrees. Why would you want to follow the commands of the person that killed your family?

Back in the present Sasuke is charging up an attack. ‘Just as you told me to. I’ve resented and hated you and lived solely,’ The sounds of birds chirping reaches their ears. ‘to kill you!’ Sasuke is surrounded by lightning, the electricity glowing in his hands. Naruto looks on in shock.

‘Lightning?’ Mikoto is a little surprised. ‘Not fire?’ It’s uncommon to say the least to have a different affinity than fire within the clan, even within the country, it’s called the fire country for a reason.

‘That’s the Chidori right?’ Itachi asks Kakashi. He’s seen the other use it plenty of times.

‘It is.’ Kakashi looks a little thoughtful. ‘I never thought I would get to teach it to someone else.’

‘Chidori.’ Itachi doesn’t look surprised. His partner is a little impressed but doesn’t say anything. Sasuke charges toward his brother but Itachi stops him with ease. Redirecting the attack towards the wall, easily bursting a hole through it. They look at each other again. Sasuke sweating nervously.

Naruto quickly makes a hand seal to help his friend. He starts channeling his chakra. Both Itachi and the blue skinned man turn to look at the boy.

‘Yes Naruto! Help him!’ The kids yell out. Eager to have some fun action.

‘I doubt I’ll be able to do much.’ Shikamaru destroys their happiness.

The air is ripe with chakra. There is no mistake, the power of the nine-tailed fox! The blue skinned man thinks. Sasuke however is still in Itachi’s grab.

‘They’re after the nine tails.’ Jiraiya mutters.

‘That’s not a good sign.’ The Hokage agrees. This particular fragment reveals a lot of not so good things. Things they would have to watch out for or prevent.

‘You!’ Sasuke begins, he’s channeling all the hate he can. Itachi doesn’t take any mind.

‘You’re in the way.’ He says as he throws Sasuke to the ground.

‘I’m sorry Sasuke. I promise I’ll never do that.’ Itachi yells at his brother. Shisui still holds him down.

‘Calm down for a bit.’

‘Sasuke!’ Naruto yells out at his friend. He starts making sign. ‘Summoning…’ but before he can continue the blue skinned man interrupts by using his sword. I can’t feel my chakra. Naruto tries again and again but nothing is working. ‘What’s going on?’

‘Samehada.’ Tenten says. The other kids look at her.

‘What?’ Naruto asks.

Tenten smiles, it’s rare for her to show of her knowledge in weapons. ‘It’s a sword that eats chakra. It’s very rare that someone is able to handle it without being drained.’

‘That’s not good.’ Kiba says. The other kids had to agree with him.

The man grins and shows off his sword. ‘My Samehada cuts through and devours chakra too.’ The sword is making sounds as he speaks, it’s almost as if it’s alive. ‘We don’t need this kid whipping out any more jutsu. Maybe I should start with the arms instead.’ Kisame grabs his sword and starts the swing. Naruto tries again to do something, but nothing is working. Sasuke too is unable to help his friend as he is still down on the ground.

‘This is not looking good.’ Inoichi says. If that really is one of the seven swordsmen of the Mist, then they should run. Get away as soon as possible. He’s heard enough about them to fear them.

‘Do you think Sasuke dies here?’ Chouza asks. Sasuke and his parents look on in shock.

‘What makes you say so?’ Mikoto asks the man.

‘We haven’t seen him in the future, further, yet.’

‘I hope not.’ She pets her son’s hair. For Sasuke to die so young. Then they would’ve failed spectacularly. She can only hope that isn’t the case.

But before the sword hits Naruto, a toad intercepts. This toad is about medium sized and has protectors on his arms. ‘You don’t know me at all. You should’ve done your homework. The toad sage Jiraiya falls victim to no woman’s charm, beauties drop for me like blossoms in a storm.’ Jiraiya appears behind Naruto, he’s carrying a woman on his shoulder.

‘So, I finally appear.’ Jiraiya boasts. The rest of the group can only sigh. They did see the woman in his shoulder.

‘Like the womanizer you are.’ Tsume taunts the other. Some of the men in the room gained a small blush on their faces, as they do read the man’s novels.

Naruto looks back at his teacher, not impressed. ‘Yeah, right! You’re the one who got excited when a woman winked at you. This is no time to be acting so high and mighty pervy sage!’ Naruto screams at him.

‘Pervy sage. Pfft.’ Naruto laughs. There are a couple others that join in, it is a fitting name for the man.

‘The only funny thing happening right now.’ Hinata says softly. Ino gives her a friendly shove.

‘It’s fitting.’

‘I really should wish you wouldn’t call me that in front of other people.’ Jiraiya yells back at Naruto.

‘We’ve got worse things to worry about than what these guys think of you! Get on with it.’ Naruto reprimands his teacher. Sasuke is still laying on the ground and from this angle they can see a mark on his neck. Then the woman hanging on Jiraiya shoulder is seen. Itachi says nothing.

‘Naruto is right.’ Sasuke says.

The shark man is cackling. ‘Lord Jiraiya touted as one of the legendary Sannin. No matter how much of an unrivaled woman-chaser you are, I didn’t think our delaying tactic would succeed that easily.’

‘Let me guess. They told the woman to seduce and it didn’t take any effort on her part.’ People start laughing at the man once more. Jiraiya holds his head in his palms. How could his reputation have tarnished so badly?

‘I wouldn’t be surprised.’ Shikaku says.

‘Guys.’ Jiraiya calls out but people only start laughing more.

‘You know who he really is?’ Naruto asks.

‘Of course, they do.’ Jiraiya says to his student.

Then the blue man starts talking again. ‘It seems you’ve undone the genjutsu we placed on that woman.’ Jiraiya looks at the man, not satisfied in the slightest.

‘Correction. They hypnotized her.’ Shisui points out.

Jiraiya shrugs. ‘Details.’

‘Placing a genjutsu on a woman to separate me from Naruto, what kind of coward would do something like that?’ Jiraiya says as he puts the woman on the ground. She is still asleep.

Naruto only looks on. Separate us, but why?

‘To make Naruto an easier target. Duh.’ Kiba says. Naruto gets a little red at the comment of the other boy. Kiba isn’t smart himself but if he could figure that out then Naruto should’ve been able to as well.

‘Stupid.’ Naruto slaps himself on the head. He should’ve known better.

‘I know he’s the one you’re really after.’ Jiraiya says. Naruto is shocked. Even Sasuke laying on the ground is a little shaken.

‘Now I know how Kakashi knew. So, you were his information source.’ Itachi says. Jiraiya doesn’t say anything is response. ‘To take Naruto with us, is the supreme order given unto us by the Akatsuki.’ Itachi explains. The name of the organization they belong to is Akatsuki. Kisame is still fighting of the toad. Naruto is shocked, what would they want with him? Then the toad disappears in a burst of smoke.

‘The red cloud organization is called Akatsuki.’ Shisui looks at his notes and edits accordingly.

‘I’ve heard of them before.’ Jiraiya says. This time seriously. The other adults look at him. To think that group already existed.

‘Really?’

‘They’re only a small mercenary group now. To think they would have such goals.’ He explains. He heard rumors they originated from the Rain, which would’ve been a coincidence since he does have contacts there as well, even if he hasn’t heard from them in a while.

‘Stealing the nine tails.’ Inoichi mutters. The nine bijuu are sacred in the villages they belong. If someone were to steal one of them it would be an act of war. To think there is a group dedicated to stealing one of them.

‘Sorry, I can’t give you Naruto.’ Jiraiya explains.

Itachi almost snorts. ‘Really?’

‘This really is a strange Itachi.’ Shisui exclaims. ‘He’s got a sense of humor.’

‘That is a bit odd.’ Mikoto agrees. Itachi might be good natured and all, but he lacks the humor gene.

‘Mom!’

‘I might as well take care of the two of you right here!’ Jiraiya gets ready to do something until he’s interrupted by Sasuke.

‘Stay out of this.’ Sasuke stands up slowly, his body is shaking. Naruto and Jiraiya watch on in shock. ‘The only one who’ll do any eliminating is me!’ He declares, his body is shaking, shivering even. The rest of the room watches on for the next move.

‘You’re not going to be able to do anything in that state.’ Hiashi tells the kid. Sasuke agrees with him.

‘I must be really angry.’ He understands why.

‘Go away. I have absolutely no interest in you!’ Itachi stares at Sasuke from behind before giving him a harsh kick in the stomach. Sasuke falls against a wall and falls over in pain.

‘I’m sorry Sasuke.’ Itachi tells him once more. Shisui holds him again. He hates to see his friend hurting like this.

‘Sasuke!’ Naruto shouts for his friend. He’s about to do something but Sasuke stops him.

‘Naruto! Don’t butt in! Mind your own business!’ He screams at Naruto, desperation in his voice. Naruto stops his charge.

‘Aw, he cares about you.’ Ino tells the blond. Her inner yaoi fangirl is squealing once more. If only there were more scenes like this.

‘Or he’s selfish.’ Naruto tells her. Ino doesn’t heed it.

Itachi eyes his little brother. At this point he should no longer be able to weave signs.

‘This is my fight!’ Sasuke screams. Itachi narrows his eyes and slowly walks toward Sasuke. Sasuke’s breathing is harsh. ‘You’re mine!’ He yells but Itachi starts hitting him again. And again. Over and over again, blood leaves his mouth. Naruto can only watch what’s happening.

‘I’m sorry. Sorry.’ Itachi keeps apologizing. He hates what he’s seeing so much he can’t help it. He hasn’t even done anything yet.

‘Come here Itachi. You deserve a hug as well.’ He mother calls out. Itachi stands and walks over to her. He embraces her in a tight hug.

‘Thanks mom.’ Kakashi smiles, he really is still a kid.

‘No mercy eh.’ The blue man laughs. Naruto is only getting more frustrated. Sasuke falls to the ground again. Itachi grabs him by the neck and holds him up to the wall. He forces Sasuke to look into his eyes and once again he’s flooded with visions.

He’s inside a dark room. He can hear Itachi’s voice. ‘You are weak.’ Sasuke turns to look where it’s coming from, but he doesn’t see anything. ‘For the next 24 hours, relive that day.’ In front of him appear his parents. Itachi stands behind them and cuts them down.

‘That’s just cruel.’ Sakura says. She’s almost crying, she never imagined she would see something like this. She always thought that was for grown-ups.

‘I would go insane after that.’ Ino agrees with her.

Outside the vision Sasuke starts screaming. ‘Itachi, I do not think it wise to use that eye so many times in one day.’ The blue man addresses his partner. Naruto can’t take it anymore and charges forward.

‘Weakness?’ Naruto asks.

‘The mangekyo can cause blindness if used to often.’ Fugaku explains. It still doesn’t tell the others what it is exactly.

‘Power for a price.’ Kakashi nods. He can get it. Even the way the sharingan is awakened is for a price, the price of extreme stress.

‘That’s enough!’ He yells. Jiraiya meanwhile performs some signs and as soon as they could blink the hallways turns to flesh.

‘Ninja art: gamaguchi toad mouth trap.’ Jiraiya says. Sasuke disappears into one of the walls. Itachi finally let’s go of him. His partner too is a bit surprised. ‘Too bad, Itachi, Kisame. You truly can’t escape me now. You are in me!’ Jiraiya explains.

‘That sounds a little wrong.’ Iruka tells Jiraiya.

Jiraiya sighs, he gets what the other is saying. ‘Just a little.’

‘Strange technique though.’

Itachi looks at his brother one last time. ‘You’re still too weak, you don’t have enough,’ Itachi takes a breath to lean in even closer, ‘hate.’ Then the scene ends.

‘What’s got hate got to do with anything?’ Lee asks. He’s been a bit quiet because he doesn’t know how to react to something like that, but the last sentence just confused him.

‘I have no idea.’ Shikamaru says. He too finds it a little odd.

‘You don’t get stronger from hating people, right?’ Naruto looks around the room for an answer. He doesn’t hate people; does that mean he’s weak?

‘As far as I’m aware.’ The Hokage assures him.

‘Now then Shikaku. You mentioned there might be more to this.’ Inoichi tells his friend. Shikaku sighs and collects his thoughts.

‘Right.’ He puts his hands on the desk in front of him. ‘The first thing being that Itachi is very much not acting like himself. And the strategic darkening of his face in certain moments. It leads me to believe there might be more to this.’

‘I think so too.’ The Hokage tells them. ‘But we don’t have enough information to make further conclusions yet.’ It might have something to do with the tensions concerning the other clan. But like he said he can’t make conclusions just yet.

‘We better get that soon.’ Mikoto holds her two children that had gotten so distressed over that one scene. ‘I don’t want this to happen.’

‘None of us do.’ Hiashi has to agree. While the clans did have some sort of rivalry going on, they did not wish this on anyone.

‘The entire clan, dead.’ Shisui puts his head on his notes. ‘I wonder.’

Iruka sensing the mood in the room quickly decides to interrupt. ‘Maybe we should take a break for a bit.’

‘That might be best.’ They agree.

‘I think I’m going to get myself something to eat.’ Chouza admits and walks over to the table loaded with all kinds of food.

‘Good idea.’ Chouji stands up and follows his father. There are a bunch of others that follow as well, it’s getting close to lunch time anyway.

‘Just take your time.’ Kakashi tells Itachi while he too makes his way over to the food. He’ll have to use some sort of trick to prevent people from seeing his face, but that’s the least of his worries right now.

‘Sasuke, are you alright?’ Naruto who’s right next to him asks. Sasuke had just walked back to his seat.

‘Not really.’ He holds a skewer of some treat in his hands and starts scratching the wood of the desk with it. It makes a bunch of loud noises, so Iruka quickly takes it away.

‘It must be traumatizing to watch your family die like that.’ Sakura too had walked over to the other boy.

‘No kidding.’ Sasuke sighs, there are still tear tracks on his face. ‘I feel like I’ve been hit a thousand times in the head.’

‘If you ever need a hug. I’ll be happy to give you one.’ Naruto tells him while holding his hands out.

‘As if I’ll ever hug you Dobe.’ Sasuke laughs at the other’s face.

‘Teme!’ Naruto yells at him. He’s ready to throw himself at Sasuke. Why does he always have to be such an ass?

‘Boys!’

Once everyone is seated again, someone asks the question. ‘Is everyone ready for the next scene?’

‘I doubt I’ll ever be ready but continue on.’ Itachi mumbles but the people ignore him. They had to continue at some point.

The screen lights up once again. ‘A new way of fishing.’

‘Fishing?’ Kiba asks. He has done that a couple times before. Nothing impressive if you ask him.

‘Who knows what it’s about.’

Two boys and a dog are seen fishing near a small lake. The one with longer hair has the fishing rod in his hands and is trying to reel in something. The other rod is positioned nearby but isn’t moving.

‘It’s fishing in the literal sense.’ Shikamaru says.

‘Why wouldn’t it be?’ Naruto asks the other boy. He’s not the smartest, that’s why he needs someone smart like him to keep him updated.

‘Considering some of the other names it might have been something metaphorical.’ Naruto doesn’t quite understand the last word but it’s a good explanation. He can see the point.

‘This one’s huge!’ The one with longer hair says. The fish swims around the lake trying to get loose. ‘Ashura! The net! Get me the net!’ He screams to the other boy who is named Ashura. The dog next to them is barking.

‘Does anyone know of this Ashura person?’ Itachi asks. The normalcy of this scene has calmed him a lot.

‘Never heard the name.’ the hokage admits. If anyone heard of that name it would’ve been him.

‘This is also the past again.’ Shikamaru points out. They take another look at the clothing of the characters and they agree.

‘Their clothes are strange.’ Shisui says. ‘The magatama on them must mean something.’ They are usually connected to the Uchiha, but these boys don’t look very Uchiha in his opinion. There is some resemblance but not all that much.

‘It is a bit strange.’

The other boy nervously grabs the net, he’s sweating. He reaches out with the net, but it doesn’t touch the water.

‘Be careful. Go slow and steady.’ The other instructs. The fish is shown swimming in the water, the net barely reaching it. Then the young boy goes back for just a second before he launches himself after the fish into the water. ‘Ashura!’ the one waiting on the shore calls out. The camera slowly goes down to the water as Ashura comes up with a bunch of weeds in his hair.

‘What’s the point of this fragment?’ Neji asks. Nobody has a suitable response. Neji scoffs. He’s not here to watch some idiots fishing. No, he’s here to learn about his fate.

‘Maybe it’ll come later.’ Lee tries to reassure the other boy but only gets a mean look in return.

‘Look I got it, Nii-san!’ He cheers as he holds up the fish.

‘They’re brothers.’ Naruto says. They are a bit closer in age than Sasuke and his brother though. Maybe even twins.

‘I have never heard of them.’ Jiraiya too is stumped. If these are important people surely, he has heard of them before. But he’s never even heard of an Ashura, aside from the myths.

The older brother sighs. ‘Damn it. You’re so impulsive.’ He mutters. The dog is cheering from the side as well. He’s jumping from side to side. Then the other line starts moving. The older brother walks up to it. ‘You got a bite too!’ he tells Ashura.

‘You’re right.’ Ashura walks back to the shore and puts the fish they caught down before reaching for his own rod. ‘It might be bigger than yours.’ He laughs. The older one just looks, not saying anything. They grab it together and pull up. The thing they caught rises up and lands behind them.

‘That’s not a fish.’ Shisui laughs. After the last scene this is a nice one. Just to calm down a bit.

‘Don’t spoil it!’ Naruto yells at the other. Shisui laughs. Kids.

‘It’s just driftwood.’ Ashura mumbles disappointed. The dog inspects it with his nose. The older one of the two slowly walks up to it and puts his hands in a sign. In a puff of smoke, the log changes to the fish they caught. ‘It’s a big one!’ He’s now cheerful again as he walks toward his brother.

‘Why is he so impressed? It’s nothing impressive.’ Sasuke says. Even he can do that, and he’s not even a ninja yet.

‘Who knows.’ Shino says. Sasuke is a little surprised at the response of Shino but doesn’t reply.

‘You did a great job.’ He complements the other.

‘Right. Just a replacement jutsu. Anyone can do that.’ Tenten says. Then she takes a look at Lee and gives him an encouraging pat on the back.

‘It is!’ Ashura says. Then he looks at the fish again. ‘But what did you just do?’ he asks.

‘Why doesn’t he know?’ Sakura asks. Even she doesn’t think of it as something super strange.

‘Maybe he’s stupid.’ Sasuke says. Like Naruto. The boy does remind him of Naruto a bit.

Then another voice starts narrating. ‘Back then ninshu did not have a practical application for fighting yet. My original intent for it was to help bring souls together.’ From the sounds of it, it’s an old man speaking.

‘Hold on a second. Who’s narrating.’ Ino asks. Nobody in the room could give an answer. It sounded like an old man but not like anyone they know.

‘What’s ninshu?’ Naruto asks. This time it’s not a stupid question as the rest doesn’t seem to know anything either.

‘Did we just watch something from the beginning of the discovery of chakra?’ Tsume yells out. It sends the gears in peoples head turning.

‘That’s interesting.’ Itachi mutters. It might be a well-known fact but he’s a bookworm, he loves learning new things. To see something like that is a dream come true.

‘No wonder we haven’t heard of these kids. If it’s that long ago, their names must’ve been lost in time.’ Hiruzen explains. The others nod in agreement.

‘They do seem a little familiar.’ Naruto says. He has this faint feeling of having met them before. But if what the others say is true then it must be something else.

‘What do you mean?’ Kiba asks. He’s laughing at Naruto’s face. He really is stupid if he thinks he able to meet them before.

‘I agree with Naruto. It feels like I know them.’ Sasuke says. It shoots looks his way, which is a bit uncomfortable.

‘Like that isn’t strange.’

‘That was most interesting.’ Hiashi says. If it really is about the discovery of chakra it certainly is something of interest.

‘What was the point though. Nothing really happened.’ Iruka says. He can understand the intrigue in the history, but it only showed two boys’ fishing. It’s not that impressive.

‘I think it’s more about that characters than what exactly happened.’ Shikaku says.

‘What do you mean?’

‘These two boys, I think they’re important.’ He explains further. A part of him believes that there is a reason they’re shown, they must be significant enough.

‘Could be.’ Jiraiya muses. There is something about them, he’s sure of it.

‘It would make sense to show them then.’ Mikoto agrees. A part of her thinks of them as familiar too, but not in the sense like Naruto and Sasuke. It’s more like she can see a part of a connection between them.

‘It still doesn’t explain what they’re important for.’ Shisui mumbles. He would love to make detailed notes about them but there just isn’t enough information.

‘We don’t have enough leads to be able to make conclusions about that yet.’

‘Onto the next scene then.’ Kakashi asks as he looks around the room for confirmation.

Once again, the screen lights up. ‘The most powerful jutsu.’

‘Are we actually going to see the most powerful jutsu?’ Naruto’s eyes are sparkling. He always hoped he would be able to learn it.

‘I highly doubt there is one.’ Itachi says to the little boy. After all every jutsu has its uses and weaknesses.

‘Different situations require different jutsu.’ Kakashi agrees. His Chidori would not be good for espionage tasks. ‘It makes me wonder what kind of jutsu this is going to be.’

‘I hope I’m the one performing it.’ Naruto is getting excited. ‘That would make me super awesome!’

‘Don’t get your hopes up too much.’ Sasuke says to Naruto. He highly doubted it would be Naruto performing the jutsu.

The scene starts with a place filled with magma and lava. There is a woman with white hair floating in the air. As are two other figures. One is as bright as the sun, the other looks a lot like Sasuke.

‘’That’ jutsu?’ Sasuke asks his partner. His mismatched eyes stare at Naruto with bewilderment.

‘So Sasuke is very much alive still.’ Mikoto says. It lifts a pressure of her chest. She takes a good look at her boy. He looks so handsome.

‘Good to know.’ Fugaku agrees.

‘Where did he get the rinnegan from then?’ Shisui asks. He noticed the purple eye when it appeared on the screen. To see the rinnegan once is impressive, to have at least two people in the future that have it must be an indicator of something.

‘That’s a good question but I doubt we’ll get the answer now.’ Itachi tells his best friend. He can’t deny being curious. It’s his little brother after all.

‘Why?’

‘He already has it.’

Naruto nods. ‘Yeah.’ Naruto starts smiling. ‘Sasuke, hear me out.’

Then the focus changes onto the woman in the air. There is a black stuff leaking from her arms. It’s even got a face. It’s this stuff that starts talking. ‘I don’t know what you’re scheming but Mother absorbs all jutsu.’ He explains as he’s retracting himself. ‘Your actions are meaningless.’

‘What is that?’ Ino asks. In her entire life she’s never seen something so ugly. The woman is pretty as hell but that creature… gross.

‘Good question?’ Tsume agrees as little disturbed as well. ‘Who is she?’ Everyone turns to look at the Hyuuga head.

‘I don’t know. Why are you looking at me?’ he asks the group.

‘She’s got the byakugan.’ Fugaku says, then he takes another look. ‘And something on her forehead.’ It looks a little like the rinnegan and sharingan combined, which probably isn’t a good thing.

‘I have never seen her or heard of someone like that before.’ Hiashi huffs. He would know if he saw her before. She’s rather distinct.

‘That creature in her arms is also really creepy.’ Ino is truly horrified by a creature like that.

‘You’re telling me.’

Then a shot appears looking at the scene from a distance. There Sakura and Kakashi and another mysterious man with a half white body are being held up by a Naruto clone. ‘How’s it looking?’ Kakashi asks. Sakura looks over her shoulder.

‘Sakura has the seal on her forehead.’ Kakashi points out. She really must have studied under Tsunade.

‘So Tsunade passed on all of her abilities.’ Hiruzen smiles. He’s glad Tsunade takes on another student. It would do her good.

‘Scary.’ Jiraiya can already feel the shudders. One Tsunade is enough.

‘Looks like they’re just staring each other down.’ She explains.

‘Who’s that other man?’ Chouji asks. He’s seen the others before, but that man is strange.

‘Part of his skin is white? I don’t know anyone like that.’ Iruka says. The rest of the group agrees. This must be another person they managed to pick up in the future.

‘I see.’ Kakashi says. The power to forcefully drag us all into this dimension that isn’t genjutsu… this is on a totally different scale. Kakashi looks strained, not only that he has two normal eyes. She’s like a god. A close up shot appears of the woman. She has the byakugan and a strange eye on her forehead. She’s also got two horns sticking out of her head.

‘This is not looking good.’ Kakashi knows himself. If he thinks someone is godlike then that person is godlike.

‘You’re telling me.’ Shisui says. ‘If Kakashi admits that she’s godlike then she must be super strong.’

‘Kakashi got two normal eyes.’ Itachi points. The rest of the people turn to look at the screen once again.

‘You’re right.’ Shisui mutters. Where did he find an exact copy of his other eye? ‘How did that happen.’

‘Maybe we’ll find out.’ Kakashi murmurs. Him losing the sharingan in the future. It saddens him a little. It’s the last thing he has of Obito. A person he would never be able to see again.

‘How do you plan on fighting someone like that, Naruto?’ Sakura asks the clone behind her.

Naruto smiles. ‘This could be the end but we gotta give it our best shot.’ He says as he puts his hand on the strange man’s chest. ‘Just like we’ve been doing all along, right?’ The strange man slowly starts waking up, but before they could see anything else the shot changes back to Naruto and Sasuke.

‘What did Naruto just do?’ Sakura asks. Her studious nature demands the answer to the question.

‘Did he heal that man?’ Ino asks. But no answer comes.

‘Are you serious?’ Sasuke asks his friend. He’s truly taken aback.

‘We won’t know unless we try.’ Naruto says. Sasuke is completely hesitant. ‘I’ve been secretly practicing this jutsu even more than the rasengan, you know!’ Naruto grins. ‘It’s worth giving it a shot, right?’

‘I’m getting excited.’ Naruto is bouncing in his seat. It would show him being awesome. He can’t wait.

‘Me too!’ Sasuke tells him. He might not be the one performing the technique, but it does look like he’s important. That’s enough for now.

Sasuke turns back to the woman, clearly not completely convinced. ‘If there’s a chance it’ll create an opening.’ A close up is shown of Sasuke’s left eye. ‘Fine. I’ll get my left eye ready.’ They take position and Sasuke starts the action with an Amaterasu. It sets the lady ablaze with black flames.

‘Sasuke doesn’t quite seem convinced.’ Tsume laughs. This plan they have got to be genius, if not a bit ridiculous. If she knows Naruto well enough.

‘I wonder what their plan is.’

‘They’re making a move.’ Sakura tells the others from the sidelines.

The fire is quickly being absorbed by the lady. Then Naruto goes forward ready to launch his attack. ‘Take this!’ he shouts as he makes multiple clones. The clones surround the woman, who quickly activates her byakugan. Then the clones transform, into a bunch of hot dudes. ‘Sexy jutsu: reverse harem Jutsu!’ he shouts as he’s joined by the transformed clones for the last bit of it.

‘What!’ The men in the room scream out. This is crazy. A harem jutsu? Reverse harem?

‘Holy moly!’ The ladies in the room shout. A little blush appearing on their faces. They are a bunch of handsome men.

The lady just watches. Then the shot changes to Sakura, who’s equally stunned. A train of blood leaving her nose. Kakashi just watches.

‘This is embarrassing.’ Sakura says. Seeing her future self like that is not the most fun thing. If only it was her performing something awesome, that would’ve been cool.

‘Don’t worry I would’ve fainted.’ Ino tells her best friend. Sakura sighs. Of course, her friend would be like that.

Sexy-type jutsu tend to work better on stronger opponents, you know! Naruto explains.

‘Interesting information.’ Jiraiya coughs. He already knows that if it were a bunch of naked ladies he would’ve fallen victim to the technique.

‘Might be useful.’ Shisui muses. He looks at the others in the room. Most have composed themselves once again but Itachi is still sporting a little blush. Interesting.

‘Doubt it.’ Sasuke says. He doesn’t really get what the big deal is. It’s just naked people. All people are naked under their clothes, it’s nothing special.

Sakura meanwhile is enraged. That idiot! Using a jutsu like that in this situation? That might work on me, but there’s no way that jutsu will work on someone so god-like! She balls her fist.

‘Now we know how to defeat future Sakura.’ Naruto yells out. He’s rather excited.

‘Like that’s important.’ Sasuke shrugs. The only thing he has to do is wink at her, then she faints.

‘Failsafe for when she gets angry.’ Naruto tells his friend. Sasuke shrugs. It’s not that big of a deal.

Then the shot changes to the lady caught in the jutsu again. The clones reach closer to her second by second. Then all of a sudden, they disappear, and Naruto reaches through and punches her in the face.

‘It worked!’ Tsume has the time of her life. She knew this was going to be hilarious. It certainly did not disappoint. The images were a bonus.

‘Why has nobody else thought of a jutsu like that.’ Shikaku mutters. ‘It seems so obvious.’

‘Not many like admitting that it’s a weakness.’ The Hokage explains. Himself included. He is a big fan of the icha icha series.

‘Boohoo people and their ego.’ Naruto yells. He doesn’t really get it but it’s funny. He should do it more often.

It worked! Sakura screams. She’s utterly shocked, before he promptly faints. Kakashi watches a little disappointed in his student.

‘Sakura fainted!’ Kiba laughs. If he knew the only thing he would need to do was undress, then he would’ve done that ages ago.

‘They were a bunch of dreamy dudes.’ Ino agrees. ‘I would’ve done the same.’

‘Now if they were a bunch of naked ladies, then… hehehe.’ Jiraiya laughs. This is the best idea yet. People should’ve thought of it sooner.

‘Shut up pervy sage!’

‘Who is that lady.’ Iruka asks. He’s never heard of someone like her. Granted it’s the future but still. He never thought something like that possible.

‘If she really as strong as Kakashi and that black creature make her out to be then we should watch out.’ Inoichi tells them. He knows Kakashi isn’t one to overestimate people.

‘Take note Shisui.’ Fugaku tells the boy.

‘Already on it.’ Shisui taps his pen on the desk and continues writing.

‘Guys. Did you see me!’ Naruto turns to the other kids. ‘I was all glowy and stuff.’

‘We did see.’ Shino points out.

‘It was pretty cool Naruto-kun.’ Hinata says. Her voice is as soft as always but she seems genuinely happy for him.

‘You think so?’ Naruto smiles. ‘Awesome!’

‘Sasuke was pretty cool too. With his strange eyes.’ Sakura points out. The only one not so cool was her. She fainted.

‘The mangekyo too.’ Sasuke muses. ‘I wonder how I got it.’ He would love to have those powers, but he knows how to get it. It’s not fun which is why he doesn’t want it. At least he seems sane with it, unlike Itachi.

‘Let’s not think about that.’ Shisui mumbles. First Itachi then Sasuke, this can’t be good. He doesn’t wish that upon them.

‘What do you guys mean with the mangekyo anyway?’ Naruto asks. The rest does look at him, like he asked something taboo.

Fugaku considers it for a bit but then starts explaining. ‘It’s another stage of the sharingan, usually awakened after watching someone you hold most dear to you die.’

‘That doesn’t sound like fun.’ Chouji looks down. He wouldn’t want to go through such a thing.

‘It’s not.’ Shisui says. He still remembers when he got his. ‘We do get a bunch of awesome powers in return, but most don’t think it worth it.’

‘I wonder if Kakashi would be able to get it?’ Mikoto muses. She never really thought about it. Kakashi is not an Uchiha so it might not work.

‘I don’t see why not.’ Fugaku explains to his wife. The sharingan connects with the hosts brain.

‘I hope I won’t get it.’ Kakashi states. Who would he even have to watch die? Naruto? Maybe Gai? Tenzo is another option?

‘Let’s move onto the next scene then!’ Iruka says as he motions to screen to continue playing.

‘I hope this time we’ll get to see someone else being awesome!’ Tenten says. Naruto and Sasuke is awesome and all but she would love to see herself some time.

‘That would be cool.’ Ino agrees. She like Tenten wishes to see herself.

‘I hope it’s me!’ Kiba yells.

‘A green beast and a Tanuki’ the screen reads once it lit up.

‘There is only one person I know that’s referred to as the green beast.’ Kakashi pales a little. He doesn’t really want to see Gai chasing a tanuki. That would be really strange.

‘Who?’

‘A rather obnoxious person. His name is Gai.’

‘Then it’s probably about him.’ Naruto agrees. At least it’s not him this time.

On the screen appears another screen. This screen displays the names Gaara vs Rock Lee.

‘All right! Go get him Lee!’ Gai cheers on his student from the sidelines. Lee jumps down onto the field.

‘It appears that it’s about his student and not Gai himself.’ Shikaku laughs. To think Gai would get a copy. He’s mostly amused but a part of him fears if it’s contagious.

‘There is another one.’ Kakashi mutters. His book is already back in his hands. To distract him if needed.

‘It’s me!’ Lee yells out. He never thought it would be about him. He looks a little strange though.

‘Congrats kid.’ Shikaku congratulates him.

‘Yes Sir!’ He lands perfectly on the ground and looks at his opponent. ‘Facing you so soon makes me very happy!’ Lee says to the other boy, who has red hair and a strange tattoo on his forehead.

‘It’s that boy Naruto wanted to rescue before.’ Kiba points out. The rest of the group looks and sees that the boy is right.

‘His name is Gaara then.’ Naruto says. This Gaara person is apparently a special person to him.

‘He looks a bit angry if you ask me.’ Sasuke says. He doesn’t like the look on the boy’s face. His dead look suited him much better, he didn’t look that strange, like he was sleeping.

‘Hmph.’ The other snorts. The gourd on his back clearly obvious.

‘See.’

Meanwhile from the sidelines Naruto and another strange boy from the Sand are talking. ‘I don’t know what kind of tricks this bowl-cut kid has up his sleeve, but there’s no way he’ll win against Gaara.’

Naruto remembers a small scene that happened previously, of Lee kicking Sasuke in the face. ‘No, he’s stronger than you think.’

‘Thank you, Naruto!’ Lee yells to the other. He likes getting the attention. Hopefully he can show people that even without chakra he can still be an awesome ninja.

‘No problem.’ Naruto smiles. He likes Lee, he’s kind of like him.

Lee makes a gesture towards Gaara. ‘Please don’t rush things.’ Gaara just watches, his expression not getting any less bloodthirsty.

Gai is watching his student. Watch yourself Lee.

‘How cute.’ Kakashi laughs. It’s actually pretty fun to see Gai have someone else to spent time with.

‘All right then. Let the ninth-round battle begin!’ The proctor calls to the two opponents. Lee and Gaara look each other in the eye.

‘Must be chunin exams.’ Shisui states. He knows that room doesn’t get used that often.

‘That’s very likely.’ Itachi agrees with him.

A girl from the Sand watches her little brother. He may be fast, but his kick wasn’t anything special. He’s no match for Gaara. She remembers another scene in which Lee had attacked her.

‘These two must be Gaara’s teammates.’ Naruto says.

‘They have a lot of faith in him.’ Neji says. He’s rather curious to see what Lee can do. Surely someone who’s destined to fail can’t defeat someone like that. Gaara seems to understand his fate well enough.

Then in the middle of the arena lee goes for the attack. He rushes at his opponent and goes for a kick. ‘Konoha hurricane!’ He yells out but Gaara isn’t even bothered. From his gourd a rush of sand escapes and shields him from the attack. Lee is taken aback. Sand? Then the sand lunges at him and pushes him to the other side of the field.

Meanwhile the onlookers from the side what in amazement. None of them had been expecting sand to come from the gourd.

‘Impressive technique.’ Kakashi is a little surprised. He wasn’t suspecting that. His future self wasn’t either.

‘Similar to that of the fourth Kazekage.’ The hokage muses. ‘He uses gold dust instead of sand.’ Could there be a connection? The Kazekage does have children according to the rumors.

Lee is a little frustrated but doesn’t let that hold him back. He rushes at Gaara again, but the sand manages to stop his again. So, he tries once more, and more, but it’s all giving the same result.

Without even moving a muscle. Darn! Lee is getting a bit more exhausted, panting to catch his breath.

‘That Gaara kid is strong.’ Sasuke watches in awe. While that goddess was also really strong there is something a bit more realistic in the way the other fights. There are people like that out in the world. It’s amazing.

‘Fast as he is, Lee is getting nowhere!’ Sakura exclaims from the side.

‘His attacks just aren’t working.’ Naruto says. Naruto is quite beat up as well, he probably fought before.

‘Physical attacks are worthless against Gaara. The sand forms a shield to protect his body, independent of Gaara’s will.’ The boy with the black clothes and the puppet on his back says to Naruto. ‘That’s why, to this day, there’s not one person,’ The boy is sweating, ‘who has ever wounded him.’ Naruto is shocked, how can that happen. Not only that it’s not a good sign for Lee.

‘Is it me or is he afraid of the boy.’ Chouji says. To think that someone would fear their own teammate. He could never fear his own, he would be more worried about hurting others.

‘If that bloodlust he’s showing is anything to go by, I think it would be justified.’ Shikamaru says. He’s never seen someone exert that much bloodlust. It’s a little crazy.

‘Naruto did seem to care a lot about him before.’ Sakura thinks. Why would Naruto care about someone so scary?

‘Why is Lee only using Taijutsu?’ Sakura asks Gai who’s standing right next to her. ‘Taijutsu are ineffective and painful against that wall of sand.’

‘It’s not that Lee won’t use ninjutsu, it’s that he can’t.’ Gai explains. Sakura is shocked, how is that possible? ‘Lee has practically no ninjutsu or genjutsu abilities.’

‘That’s a disadvantage.’ Itachi mutters. He can’t imagine what it’s like living without chakra to use. It would make being a ninja a lot more difficult.

‘Or an advantage. Depends how you look at it.’ Kakashi holds his book up to his face to cover the lower half of it.

‘What’d you mean Senpai?’

‘He has a lot more time to focus on other things.’ Kakashi has seen it before. Someone with chakra control so abnormally bad that he didn’t put any time in it. Instead he focused all his time on working on his sword fighting skills and became one of the strongest in the village.

‘That makes sense.’ Itachi could see where he’s coming from. It would make someone a specialized ninja, which aren’t bad per se. They just need the right application.

‘Are you joking? Then how has he lasted this long?’ Sakura yells at the other teacher.

‘When I first met Lee, he had absolutely no sense and no talent or ability whatsoever.’ Gai smiles. ‘That’s why the only moves he’s been able to develop are taijutsu. There aren’t many ninjas who can use neither ninjutsu nor genjutsu,’ Gai starts.

Meanwhile Lee has to dodge an attack Gaara launched at him. The sand is coming at him quickly, trying to grab onto his legs. Lee managed to avoid them just in time. Lee managed to land up the statue at the edge of the battlefield.

‘He’s got the upper hand.’ Kiba whispers to Shino but the rest did hear him.

‘Please stop.’ Shino states. ‘No puns please.’

‘And that’s precisely why Lee can win.’ Both Sakura and Kakashi are watching with curiosity. ‘Lee take them off!’ Gai yells at his student. The rest of the people in the room look at the teacher. What could he be talking about?

‘Something is about to happen.’ Naruto leans closer to the screen, good thing he’s seated behind a desk and can’t go forward that much.

‘I hope it’s great.’ Sasuke agrees. He’s been dying for some actual action.

‘But Gai-sensei, you said never to do that unless I was defending the lives of people who are precious to me!’ Lee yells back at his teacher.

‘It’s alright, I’ll allow it!’ And he shoots his student a thumbs up. Lee starts smiling and takes of his legwarmers and then the weights that are hidden underneath.

‘It’s just a couple of weights. That’s not going to do much.’ Shisui laughs.

‘You don’t know Gai.’ Kakashi says.

‘What?’ Shisui has seen the guy plenty of times in the village, even had a mission with him once. But he does admit he has no idea of the guy’s training methods. Are they really as crazy as Kakashi says they are?

‘You’ll see.’ Kakashi will take some pleasure out of this. He’s sure of it.

‘Weights?’ Sakura is a little surprised. Even Kakashi is a little taken aback.

‘Right!’ Lee yells. ‘I can move freely now!’ And the let’s go of the weights.

The girl from before smirks. There’s no way dropping a few weights will let you keep up with Gaara’s sand.

Then the weights fall on the ground making a large rumble that resounds through the entire stadium. Not only that the dust and the ground fall apart and rise up at least ten meters into the air. Everyone watching is shocked, even Gaara, though he might not be showing it.

‘What!’ Came the resounding noise of the people in the room. Even the older ones are a little taken aback.

‘That’s not just a couple of kilos. That’s got to be the weight of an elephant at least.’ Tsume says. She knew Gai was crazy but to think to go as far as that?

‘I doubt a person could ever handle that amount of weight.’ Itachi is doing the calculations in his head. It should by all means be impossible. Why would Tsume say such a thing. Shisui just laughs at his friend’s serious face.

Aren’t you overdoing it Gai? Kakashi is a little shocked. He did not expect Gai to take training that far. Lee smirks and rushes to the other side of the field. He’s gone in a blink of an eye and spontaneously appears from behind Gaara. He goes for a punch, he almost hits. The sand only barely stopping him before he can land a hit on Gaara. Lee takes this as a good sign and proceeds to speed up even more. At some points his limbs get through the sand, only being stopped by the sand surrounding his joints.

‘He’s gotten fast.’ Tenten watches in awe. She knew that if Lee put his mind to it he could get anywhere.

‘You’re kidding right!’ Naruto yells. It’s loud. ‘He’s faster than me!’

‘That’s not saying much.’ Sasuke sighs.

‘It’s because he had no aptitude for either ninjutsu or genjutsu that Lee devoted himself exclusively to taijutsu. All his time, energy and focus. So that he’s the best taijutsu specialist he can be.’ Gai explains to both Kakashi and Sakura.

Lee goes for another attack, this time from above, he goes down and hits Gaara right on his head. Everyone is shocked, even Gaara’s teammates, this never happened before.

‘He hit him!’ Kiba exclaims. This truly is one of the best fights he’s ever seen.

‘Lee you’re awesome!’ Ino yells at him.

‘Thank you…’ Lee is getting a bit shy. He isn’t used to be seen in such a light.

Sakura pats him on the back. ‘Be proud of yourself.’ Lee blushes and whispers another thanks.

‘In terms of speed Lee can’t be surpassed.’ Gai smirks as he complements his student, he’s so proud of him.

Lee smirks. He’s done it. He landed a hit. The onlookers are watching in shock. Even Naruto is watching in awe.

‘Lee! Go all out now!’ Gai yells at his student.

‘Yeah! Go on!’ Naruto cheers him on.

‘This is fun.’ Sasuke agrees. He’s loving this. One day he hopes he can move like that as well.

‘Yes sir!’ Lee says as he goes for the attack once more. He uses attack after attack. Gaara’s sand can barely keep up. Even the ones watching are having difficulty following the moves. Then Lee his Gaara straight in the face. Gaara falls to the ground. The sand is surrounding him.

‘After the way he just got his, he shouldn’t even still be standing!’ Naruto tells the boy standing next to him. The boy is more concerned with something else.

‘Why do I think that something bad is going to happen?’ Ino mumbles. She can see the look on the other’s face.

‘You’re not the only one.’ Sakura can agree with her.

‘This is bad.’ He says. Everyone takes another look at Gaara. His skin appears to be cracking. Pieces of condensed sand start falling of his face. Apparently, he has a layer of sand covering his skin. Gaara laughs a little crazily. Lee can feel the fear that’s starting to go through him. He’s usually as composed as a statue, the picture of politeness and decorum. I had sensed that, during this chunin exam he was becoming more and more unstable but… the other Gaara is now totally awake. The boy is scared of something. ‘If this Gaara is able to catch Lee, he will be toyed with and then killed.’ Naruto looks at the boy as if he’s gone crazy.

‘Other Gaara?’ Sakura mutters. Could it be like her inner? She hopes so because then she wouldn’t be alone.

‘Maybe we’ll get more information.’

The shot changes to Gaara slowly covering his skin with sand once more. The crazy smile is still on his face.

‘What is that?’ Naruto asks the boy next to him.

‘It’s sand armor.’ He explains. ‘Gaara can create a thing shell of sand to cover and protect his entire body, controlling it by the force of his will. It’s different from the sand shield that works automatically to cover him.’ Naruto gulps. ‘It’s Gaara’s ultimate defense.’

‘Very interesting.’ Iruka says. He admits he hasn’t met a lot of foreign ninja but even he can guess this is not something anyone could do.

‘I wonder what happens when you get it wet?’ Shisui thinks.

‘It probably gets too heavy to walk around with.’ Itachi tells him. Everyone knows that. Water is heavy.

‘Then there’s nothing Lee can do! It’s got no weaknesses.’ Naruto’s eyes are wide. This isn’t looking good for Lee.

The other boy doesn’t quite agree. The sand armor is actually riddled with weak points. It’s his protection of last resort. First of all, it’s not automatic and requires a lot of chakra to maintain. Not only that, since the sand is lying against his skin he has to expend more physical strength just to move. The boy gulps. If Gaara has resorted to using the armor, then he must be purely focused on defense. He’s been driven into a corner.

‘Thanks for the exposition.’ Neji mutters. Why would he give away secrets like that?

‘It’s useful for the future.’ Lee argues back.

Gaara also decides to let his thoughts be known. ‘Is that all?’ he says, slowly.

A drop of sweat falls down Lee’s face. He’s encased in protection, which makes my speed irrelevant. My only shot is to just keep pounding and punishing that outer layer of sand.

The girl from before asks herself: ‘What’s he up to?’

Lee’s eyes focus. The lotus! He looks to his teacher for approval to use it. Gai nods and Lee starts smiling. Some of his bandages get undone. Gai looks at his student.

‘Something cool is about to happen.’ Kakashi tells the group. He knows Gai well enough to guess what’s about to happen.

‘Really!’ Naruto looks back at Kakashi, stars in his eyes.

‘What is it?’ Sasuke asks. If this really is as cool as Kakashi makes it out to be, he wouldn’t want to miss it. The problem is the absence of his future self however.

‘Just you watch.’

A thin layer of sand won’t stand up to it. The lotus technique will let him strike his foe at high speed. Lee runs around Gaara. Only a trail of dust is the indication as to where he’s been.

Gaara is taking none of it. ‘Come on. Hurry up.’ Bloodlust is radiating from the boy. Until he gets kicked in the chin from underneath.

‘As you wish.’ Lee hit him hard. Gaara’s armor is starting to break once more. ‘That’s not all!’ Lee shouts as he continues his assault. So many consecutive kicks drive Gaara up into the air. Where Lee uses his bandages to wrap around the boy. Gaara can do nothing to escape it. Lee grabs the boy and drives him back to the ground, head first, while spinning. ‘Forward Lotus!’ He yells out his attack. The ground underneath breaks under the impact. The rest of the watches can only look on in shock.

‘That’s some technique.’ Iruka says. He’s never seen anything like it. Granted he doesn’t go out with the more powerful ninja that often, given his job at the academy.

‘Must be difficult.’ Itachi mutters. Again, calculations fill his head. One needs a lot of power to lift someone up that high.

‘It certainly takes a lot of discipline.’ Kakashi tells them. He’s seen Gai training for the technique often enough to know how difficult it really is. That kid is impressive.

Once the dust has settled down, Gaara’s body appears beneath the rubble.

‘Lee, he won!’ Sakura cheers from the sidelines. Even Gai is excited, too much to notice that something is wrong. It doesn’t take much longer for the body to reveal that’s actually a hollow shell in the shape of Gaara’s body.

‘When did that happen?’ Sakura asks.

‘When did he slip out of that shell?’ Gai asks.

‘It happened when your eyes were closed in prayer, Gai. Lee paused for a moment in pain and that’s when.’ Kakashi explains to his eternal rival.

Gaara’s real body meanwhile appears from behind Lee. Lee is shocked, so shocked he doesn’t move. Not only that the effect of the previous attack is still straining his body.

‘No!’ Sakura yells out. She doesn’t want Lee to get hurt. She can admit that he’s grown on her.

‘He’s scary.’ Naruto shudders. He doesn’t get what future him sees in the guy.

Gaara appears with the most terrifying face they’ve ever seen. Even Neji is a little surprised.

The boy from before is a little scared. He’s fully awakened. Gaara’s inner demon! Gaara launches a full-on attack at Lee, almost catching him in his sand. Then he tries again but fails. But that’s not all, it’s like he’s not going all out. He’s just toying with Lee.

‘This might seem like a rushed conclusion, but I think that boy might be a jinchuuriki.’ Inoichi tells the group. He can tell the signs. The boy’s fragile mental state is obvious enough to him.

‘A what?’ Lee asks. He’s never heard the term before.

‘Jinchuuriki. It’s someone with a bijuu sealed inside them. Like Naruto.’ Itachi explains. He’s never encountered another one beside Naruto. Just the knowledge that they’re out there and might be proficient with their beast is enough to make him scared.

‘I think that conclusion makes sense.’ Shikaku explains. He gets where his friend is coming from. ‘The Akatsuki are after the nine-tails in Naruto, which is one of the bijuu, they also were after this boy. It matches up with the rumors of the one-tail being sealed not long after the nine-tails.’

‘What would they need the bijuu for?’ Tsume asks. It can’t be anything good.

‘Maybe it has something to do with the ten tails we saw before.’ Fugaku says. He has a suspicion it has something to do with what’s written on the Uchiha monument.

‘I fear that might be the case.’ The Hokage agrees. This is exactly the reason they have to watch the future.

‘Why doesn’t Lee just duck?’ Sakura asks Gai.

‘The lotus technique is a double-edged sword.’ Gai says.

‘Using a technique that level of high speed puts a huge strain on the body.’ Kakashi explains further.

‘If he managed to finish the match it would’ve been good, but since it’s failed it would only hold Lee back.’ Neji explains. Why doesn’t Lee just give up. Fate has already decided him a failure of a ninja. He shouldn’t need to push himself.

‘Come on future me.’

‘But that means, that at this rate, Lee’s gonna,’ Sakura mutters, concerned about the other. Gaara goes for another stronger attack but this time Lee doesn’t seem to be affected that much. He’s got himself back together.

‘He’s about to start pushing back.’ Gai smiles. ‘The lotus of Konoha will bloom twice.’

‘He’s not going to that, right?’ Kakashi’s eyes are wide. Gai seriously can’t have done that, right?

‘Do what?’ Naruto asks.

‘It’s how Gai got his name.’ he mutters. This can’t be good.

‘For you it ends here.’ Gaara says to his opponent.

Lee smiles. ‘Well one way or another the next move will be the last.’

Kakashi meanwhile has a realization. ‘Gai don’t tell me you…’ But Kakashi couldn’t even finish his sentence before Gai interrupts.

‘On the contrary I did.’ Gai says, face a little grim.

‘That kid, who’s only a genin is able to open the eight inner gates?’ Kakashi asks. A part of him is a little afraid.

‘That’s impressive.’ Hiruzen has seen a lot through the years. To think a child this young can open the gates. That certainly is something to be proud of.

‘And scary.’ Kakashi says. He’s seen how it can affect Gai. It’s not something he wishes on the child.

‘What do you mean?’

‘I think an explanation might come.’

‘Yes, that’s right.’ Gai responds. ‘He has the talent.’

‘No matter how much talent he has, you taught him something horribly dangerous.’ Kakashi reprimands his fellow colleague. Sakura watches the back and forth. Kakashi sighs. ‘It’s none of my business what that child means to you and I’ll spare us both the lecture about not being governed by your feelings, but you crossed a line on this.’ Kakashi glares at the other teacher. ‘You disappoint me Gai.’

‘Burn!’ Naruto yells. Sasuke gives him a slap on the head.

‘You don’t know the first thing about that kid.’ Gai glares back at Kakashi. ‘That boy has something he values so deeply that he’s willing to die for the sake of it. That’s why I wanted to help him become someone who’d be able to stand up for his ideals.’ Gai tells Kakashi.

‘You would think with their similarities they would be related.’ Tenten muses. They really look alike.

‘I’m an orphan.’ Lee explains. He’s not exactly proud of that fact.

‘Me too!’ Naruto tells him. It cheers him up a bit. He’s glad that someone like Naruto is around.

‘I suppose I am too.’ Neji admits. His mother died young and his father… fate doesn’t like him.

Kakashi looks at the kid. So, he was able to bounce back from exhaustion with such abnormal speed because he’d forced open the gate of rest. Kakashi is a little impressed. ‘So, how many can he open so far?’ Kakashi asks.

‘To the fifth gate.’ Gai explains. Kakashi is shocked. Sakura can only watch, she doesn’t have a clue what they’re talking about.

‘That kid got talent.’ Shisui is impressed. To think someone like that can open the fifth gate. He’s heard of their powers but never seen it in action before. That’s got to be something to watch.

‘Sure does.’

‘What are you talking about? You keep mentioning these inner gates?’ Sakura asks the two teachers.

‘The gates act as limiters that must be released in preparation for performing the reverse lotus.’ Gai explains.

‘I said there would be an explanation.’ Kakashi smiles smugly. Nobody responds.

Kakashi opens his sharingan. ‘At eight specific points in the body, there are places where the chakra nodes converge. Those are called the eight inner gates.’ He explains. ‘It can push the body past it’s limits, even if it’s destroyed in the process.’

Gai proceeds to explain the specifics if certain gates.

‘But he’s already so beat up, if he tries to perform any more moves.’ Sakura begins.

‘It’s most certainly not a good thing.’ Hiashi agrees with the young girl. He wouldn’t like to see his children get hurt like that. ‘But looking at that other boy he doesn’t have much of a choice. Especially if he’s a jinchuuriki.’

‘Bad luck huh.’ Lee looks down. As Neji would say: fate hates him. At least he’s pretty strong already.

‘That’s right, it’s a double-edged sword. Should someone open the eighth gate, they will be granted unmatched strength but in exchange they’ll die.’ Kakashi explains further. Sakura looks at Lee with worry.

Lee’s got his mind made up. I will not be the only one who fails. He thinks to himself. ‘The third gate Seimon Release!’ He yells out as he’s surrounded by a strange aura. His skin reddened, and eyes turned blank. The rest of the people await his next move. However, that’s not all. Lee also opens the fourth gate. Blood is dripping down his nose by now, but he doesn’t mind.

‘Stay safe.’ Sakura mutters.

‘This is getting intense.’ Naruto is bouncing. This is the best thing he’s ever seen. If only he could watch it in reality. That would make it so much better.

Lee goes for the attack. Making his way toward Gaara and destroying the field in the process. Rocks are flying and Lee kicks Gaara in the face. The onlookers can feel the rush of wind coming of the attack. They have to brace themselves as well. Kakashi watches in amazement with his sharingan.

‘To think our bodies have that much strength.’ Itachi looks at the screen in awe. He’s always known for being powerful, but this is strength in a different sense.

‘And to think that’s only the fourth gate.’ Shisui says next to him. They could only imagine what the eighth gate would do.

‘Where’d he go?’ Naruto asks while looking around the field for the participants fighting.

Gaara is floating in the air, no sign of Lee anywhere. Then a figure appears and hits Gaara straight in the face. The figure is only there for a split second before appearing behind Gaara and hitting him again. This continuous assault goes on for quite a while.

‘He’s so fast!’ Kiba yells out.

‘I can’t even see him, and this a video.’ Sasuke is impressed. He might be faster than Shisui like that.

His muscles have torn. If this goes on any longer. Kakashi thinks. Lee is impressive, but he can’t hold it up for long.

‘That’s certainly not good.’ Lee watches the screen. He can only hope he comes out victorious. He doesn’t want to see himself lose after all of this.

Neji too is watching from the sidelines with amazement. It’s only Lee! How did he get so?

‘Jealous?’ Naruto taunts the boy. Foxy grin on his face.

‘Hmpf.’

‘This is the end!’ Lee yells out before releasing the fifth gate as well.

Gaara is shocked, he never thought his opponent would be this strong. My defenses are failing, is he even human?

‘With that outfit I seriously doubt it.’ Tenten says. It’s a fashion disaster.

‘I think it’s pretty cool.’ Naruto argues.

‘Which is why you aren’t allowed to do your own shopping.’ The Hokage interrupts. If Naruto did his own shopping everything he owns would’ve been orange. A shudder courses through him. The future is bleak in the fashion department.

Then Lee charges his last attack. He has just thrown Gaara to the ground. He holds back his hand, for one last punch. The shot changes between Gaara’s face and Lee’s fist. ‘Reverse Lotus!’ Lee screams out as he hits Gaara right in the head.

Gaara falls to the ground. Right on top of his gourd, which starts breaking down into sand. It was Gaara’s last protection.

‘Is he down?’ Naruto asks.

‘Lee most certainly can’t fight anymore.’ Kakashi tells them. Not even a short trip to the hospital would fix him up that quickly.

Lee tries to stand up again but it’s not working. He’s being held down by Gaara’s sand. Luckily, it’s only his left arm as Gaara’s next move is to crush the sand together. ‘Sand coffin.’ Gaara yells out. Lee’s arm is completely deformed by now.

‘Gross.’ Ino shudders. She’s glad the camera doesn’t show the arm.

‘Luckily it’s only his arm.’ Imagine if it was his entire body. He wouldn’t have lived after that.

But before Gaara can do any more damage, Gai jumps in to save his student.

‘Yes, Bushy brows sensei!’ Naruto yells out.

‘What?’ Kakashi is a little disturbed with the nickname, even if it’s fitting.

Gaara watches, stupefied. Memories flood him. Of his family leaving him to die, hating him since he was born. He clamps his head in pain. ‘Why are you helping him?’ He asks as if it’s such a strange thing.

‘He must not have had a good childhood.’ Shisui points out. Too bad most people don’t. It’s one of the world’s biggest sins.

‘Most jinchuuriki don’t.’ The Hokage explains. Naruto looks down. He doesn’t have the best childhood either. Everyone seems to hate him in the village.

‘People usually can’t see past the beasts they hold.’ Kakashi adds. A part of him wonders how Rin would’ve been treated had she been able to return to the village. But it’s too late to wonder about that now.

Gai looks down, all serious. ‘He’s my lovable precious protégé!’ he exclaims. Gaara doesn’t get it.

‘Forget it.’ He mutters as the proctor declares him the winner.

‘That Gaara guy is pretty strange.’ Sasuke says. He doesn’t get the other. He’s just freaky and scary with all that sand and rings around his eyes.

‘I wonder how he and I got close.’ Naruto muses. ‘I did want to save him.’

‘Maybe it’s a jinchuuriki thing?’ Sakura says.

‘Could make sense.’

‘I have to admit that was one entertaining fight.’ Shisui laughs. It might not have revealed much regarding future progression, but it still was very satisfying to watch.

‘It’s rare to see fights like that.’ Itachi agrees. A full-blown fight not to the death. It’s refreshing to see.

‘Let’s just hope the boy didn’t get too injured.’ Tsume tells the others. He did look pretty injured and her mother instincts tell her to protect him.

‘He’s certainly got enough willpower to keep going.’ Kakashi says.

‘Sometimes that’s not enough.’

Notes:

Crossdressing boy -> mystery man

Madara (with rinnegan) & dead Hokage are alive

Madara and Hashirama met as children (the idiots)
Madara can’t pee with someone behind him -> weakness

Red cloud organization Akatsuki
Members: - Deidara
- Sasori
- Itachi ???
- Kisame
Captured a random dude with red hair Gaara (Naruto cares about that guy)
Goal: possibly collecting bijuu -> might have to do with Juubi

Mizuki is evil

Kakashi’s real face is still a mystery :(
Kakashi is teacher of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura

Weird socially inept boy is part of Naruto’s team as well as Tenzo (he’s rude)

Sasuke might have a thing for Naruto and vice versa

Kakashi and Sasuke are missing at some point in the future (but still alive)

People to watch out for:

- Madara
- Sakura (don’t piss her off, don’t forget)
- Red cloud people

Itachi killed of the entire Uchiha clan, except himself and Sasuke. (Where am I?)

Two brothers were fishing before chakra was a widespread thing.

Strong people are weak against naked people of the preferred gender. (Naruto takes advantage of that)

Sasuke has the mangekyo and rinnegan?
Naruto is glowing
Sakura has a thing on her forehead
Kakashi has two normal eyes
Strange half white dude?

Goddess flying with black creature thing in her arms (has byakugan, and a third eye on her forehead) (according to Kakashi a god)

‘So, what’s up next?’ Iruka wonders. After what they’ve just seen he can’t imagine something topping that so soon.

‘Kurama’s memories.’ The screen displays. Most people blink at the screen.

‘Does anyone know who Kurama is?’ Naruto asks. There is a warm feeling coming from his belly, but he doubts that means anything.

‘It might be someone from the Kurama clan.’ Hiruzen tells them. He can’t imagine what else it could be.

‘Aren’t they nearly gone?’ Shisui asks.

‘I have no idea what else it could be.’

Chapter Text

The scene starts with a shot of Madara’s face. He looks quite a bit younger than in the previous scene, but he’s still an adult. There is the sound of growling in the background. Then the shot changes to a view of the nine-tails growling at Madara. Then Madara starts speaking.

‘Is this about what I think it’s about?’ Iruka starts. The nine-tails. He never expected to see it again.

‘It might be.’

‘Kyuubi. This transient form is nothing more than a nodule. You’re only a piece of yourself.’ The nine-tails isn’t happy what he’s being told.

‘Kurama… might that be the name of the nine-tails?’ Tsume suggests. It would be strange for the creature not to have a name. She names all her dogs.

‘I didn’t think he would have a name.’ Hiashi says. People have just been calling the creature Kyuubi for centuries.

‘He does not like you saying that.’ Naruto says. He can feel the fox stirring in his stomach, it’s slightly uncomfortable.

‘Should we be concerned about that?’ Iruka asks. He doesn’t want to deal with the fox any time soon.

‘Who knows.’ Kakashi shrugs.

‘Shut up.’ He’s still growling at Madara.

‘You are just an ignorant unstable power.’ Madara continues speaking like he hasn’t heard the fox.

‘Shut up!’ The fox snarls at the man.

‘Madara is a bit of an ass.’ Sakura says. The man is good looking, but his personality is certainly not worth it.

‘I’m pretty sure that’s the standard.’ Sasuke says. He remembers the various other Uchiha he knows, many of which are kind of an ass.

Madara still doesn’t react to his words. ‘Those who shall guide you are the Uchiha. You tailed beasts are simply servants of those with visual jutsu.’

‘Does that mean I can go and control it?’ Shisui asks. It would be cool to command such a creature. ‘Why didn’t we do that, that night?’

‘I don’t think it’s that simple. Not only that I don’t think the fox likes it.’ Mikoto answers. From Kushina she heard that the fox likes complaining about Uchihas. It was certainly an interesting conversation.

‘Shut the hell up!’

Madara looks at the fox and makes a sign with his hands. ‘Obey.’ Is the only thing he says before the screen turns white.

‘He’s mean.’ Naruto says. He wouldn’t like the man either if he did that to him.

‘Which one?’ Shino asks.

‘Both.’

Then another man appears. It’s Hashirama, bloodied and battered from a previous fight. He too starts speaking to the fox. ‘Your power is too great. Regrettably, I cannot let you run loose.’ He says before the screen turns white again.

‘He looks really beat up.’ Sasuke says. He’s never seen anyone that bloody, not even his brother and he would go on super dangerous missions.

‘It must be after he killed Madara.’ Fugaku says. It was the only time he and the fox would’ve been in contact.

Then the Kyuubi’s face appears, more vibrant than the scenes before. No matter what words they use. He starts but he’s interrupted by the face of a woman with red hair tied into two buns on the top of her head.

‘Who’s that?’ Naruto asks. ‘Her hair looks like Tenten’s.’ At the mention of her name Tenten puts her hands on her buns. They do have a similar style.

‘They only have a similar hairstyle.’ Neji says.

‘That’s Uzumaki Mito. The wife of the first Hokage.’ The Hokage explains. At the name Uzumaki, Naruto perks up.

‘Is she related to me?’ he asks. But he doesn’t get an answer.

‘When you exert your power, you draw hatred to you. Please stay quiet inside me.’ She looks down conflicting with the words she just spoke. The screen turns to the fox’s face once more.

Humans all say… His voice is full of hatred towards the people that just appeared. Wrinkles are all over his face.

‘He really doesn’t like being locked up.’ Shisui mutters. He never thought about how the Kyuubi felt in these situations. No wonder it caused all that destruction years ago. He would too if he was in his situation.

‘It’s strange to see his point of view.’ Iruka agrees. ‘I’ve grown this hatred for him because he killed my parents, but he has feelings to. If he’s been locked up for years, I wouldn’t be happy if I was in that situation.’

‘I can get what you’re saying.’ Itachi says. Being locked up for more than half a century is not fun for anyone. Especially if they haven’t really done anything wrong in the first place.

Another woman with red hair appears on the screen. ‘This is unfortunate for the both of us. You may be here to keep the world in check, but I’m here to watch you.’ Her words are direct. She looks straight at him, daring him to challenge her words.

‘Who’s this?’ Naruto asks. Only the adults know everyone.

‘Uzumaki Kushina. The previous owner of the Nine-tails.’ The Hokage answers.

‘What happened?’ Lee asks. It might have been something horrible.

‘Somehow six years ago it managed to escape, killing her in the process.’ He explains further.

‘How?’

‘We might never know.’

‘Is she related to me?’ Naruto asks. Once again. He needs to know if he’s got any family left.

The same thing. The fox is raging. The anger is obvious on his face. Then the shot changes to the view of a baby Naruto. And now, it’s this brat. How dare these Shinobi. I’ll bet even he…

‘He’s always been locked up in people with the Uzumaki name.’ Shikamaru points out.

‘Are they related to me? Answer the question!’ Naruto asks for the last time. He’s tired of people ignoring this very important question.

‘They are.’ Kakashi says but doesn’t elaborate any further. He’s not allowed to.

‘And.’

‘No comment.’

Then Naruto appears in all his teenage glory. ‘You know, Kyuubi, someday I’ll be coming after all that hatred inside you too.’ He smiles, brightly. It’s clear that the Kyuubi is contemplating something as the next shot appears of him laying down, watching but not saying anything. It’s like he’s holding onto the hatred inside him because it’s the only thing he knows. Then the scene ends.

‘He doesn’t know what to think of Naruto.’ Tenten laughs. To be honest she doesn’t really know what to feel about the boy either. He’s just so strange.

‘Naruto is kind to everyone.’ Hinata agrees.

‘That was enlightening.’ Shikaku mutters. It’s nothing much on the future part, again, but it did offer some particular insights.

‘Certainly not what I expected, going into this.’ Mikoto agrees. She had been expecting warnings and the sort, not flashbacks of the Kyuubi.

‘Kurama, huh.’ Shisui thinks. ‘Hates everyone, except maybe Naruto.’

‘Can anyone truly hate Naruto?’ Itachi responds. The blond is always so bright and cheerful, it’s difficult to hate someone like that.

‘Who knows. Maybe there is someone.’

It’s silent for a minute before Inoichi starts speaking again. ‘What’s up next.’

The screen turns on once again and on it appears the title. ‘Trolling is fun.’

‘What does ‘trolling’ mean?’ Fugaku asks. The other adults are not quite sure either.

‘I heard it’s some slang young people use.’ Tsume says, she heard Hana say it a couple times here and there.

‘It means fooling with someone.’ Itachi explains.

‘Interesting.’

‘Those who choose not to accept should raise their hands. Once their number has been confirmed they will leave the room.’ Ibiki tell the students in the room. The camera flashes to the occupants of the room. Naruto and his classmates are there, as are Lee, Neji, and Tenten. Not only that but the Sand ninja from before are there as well.

‘Chunin exams again?’ Neji says. He’s seen himself there and he’s the same age as in the scene with Lee.

‘Probably.’

‘Ibiki is the proctor. I wonder what he came up with.’ Kakashi says. He’s an old classmate of the man and knows he likes getting under people’s skin. Definitely not someone you want as an exam proctor when you’re taking the exams.

‘Knowing him. It’s something a bit threatening.’ Iruka agrees.

The camera then turns to Naruto. What kind of stupid question could it be? Naruto is sweating. If I get it wrong I’ll be a genin for life, not acceptable. But if I just reject the question, Sasuke and Sakura both have to suffer for my lack of guts.

‘Here we have our explanation.’ Kakashi says. It’s a clever one, but he doubts it’s truly original.

‘Don’t be so nervous Naruto.’ Sasuke laughs at the other.

‘Sorry. I can’t help it. I’m terrible at quizzes.’

‘I know.’ He’s seen some of Naruto’s scores, they’re usually zero.

Then the screen flashes to Sakura. She too is deep in thought. I don’t intend to raise my hand. I’m sure I can answer the question, whatever it may be! But even if Naruto decides to play is safe and reject the question and we fail, all I’ll lose is time. I won’t have failed forever. She looks at the boy in question. But Naruto you’re different. It’d be foolish to sacrifice yourself forever. For our sakes reject the question.

‘Never.’ Naruto says stubbornly. The rest of the class smiles.

Then a hand is raised. ‘I quit, I’m rejecting the question!’ A boy that nobody knows yells. He has a beard. ‘Team, I’m so sorry.’ The boy and his teammates have to leave the room. Naruto looks at the person next to him but doesn’t do anything.

Then another man joins in. ‘Me too!’ and various others join in. Naruto is shaking.

‘Don’t be tempted.’ Shino says. Naruto nods.

‘Please me. Don’t do it.’

Sakura looks at Naruto, she can clearly see that he’s nervous. Why don’t you raise your hand? She thinks back to all the times that Naruto has proclaimed himself the next Hokage. How proud he was of finally being a ninja. She raises her hand slowly for him, but she doesn’t need to as another hand is raised.

‘No!’ Naruto screams out as he sees who’s hand it is.

Naruto’s hand is in the air. Sasuke, Hinata, and Sakura watch in astonishment. Did he just give them up? Then he slams his hand down on the desk in front of him. ‘Never underestimate me!’ He yells in the room. ‘I don’t quit, and I won’t run!’ The rest of the class watches. ‘I’ll accept your stupid question! Even if I risk ending up a genin for the rest of my life. I’ll still become the Hokage even if I can only make it by pure stubbornness. I don’t care! I’m not afraid of you!’ Hinata watches her crush with proudness on her face.

‘This is the most Naruto to thing ever.’ Sakura laughs. Of course he would do something like that.

‘It’s great.’ The Hokage agrees with her.

Sasuke is sweating. That idiot. He never even gave us a thought. But he certainly does have guts. Even Sakura is proud of him. Good thing. Because an idiot like him needs them.

‘Sasuke’s face. He looks so done with Naruto.’ Shisui laughs. Sasuke shoots him a glare, his face is perfectly handsome, no matter the expression.

‘I’ll ask you one last time. This is a decision that could affect the rest of your life. Quit now whilst you still have the chance.’ Ibiki’s face hasn’t changed, it’s as if Naruto’s words don’t affect him.

‘I never go back on my word. That’s my ninja way!’ The rest of the group watches Naruto. They all agree with him.

‘I wonder what happens if he promises something ridiculous while drunk.’ Shisui says. Naruto is not quite amused by the response.

‘I’m a kid!’

Ibiki looks over the room. Seventy-eight of them are still here. An entertaining kid. And interesting, he dispelled everyone else’s doubts along with his own. More than I expected but… there’s no point in dragging this out thanks to him no one else will quit.

‘Interesting power.’ Shikamaru mutters. He’s always known Naruto can attract people like moths to a flame but to see something like this is impressive.

‘I wonder if we’ll get to see that more often. I doubt this is the only time Naruto does this.’ Ino agrees.

He composes himself for the last time. ‘Good call. So, everyone who’s still here,’ he pauses so the rest of the room can shiver in anticipation, ‘You’ve just passed the first exam!’

‘And here it is.’ Shisui laughs. Ibiki must have had a great time doing this.

‘Great idea for the first exam.’ Kakashi agrees.

‘He certainly is creative.’ Tsume says.

‘Huh!’ Naruto is shocked.

‘What do you mean passed?’ Sakura asks. ‘When did that happen? What about the tenth question?’

‘There is no tenth question beyond the whole accept or reject thing.’ Ibiki laughs. This is the best part, all their shocked faces.

‘Is this a fetish of his or something.’ Naruto watches. Does this mean the man likes pranking as well? Maybe he can get him to help out sometimes.

‘You know what, that might very well be true.’ Shisui laughs.

‘Let’s not talk about Ibiki’s fetishes.’ Itachi hits his friend on the head.

‘Not much on the future progression part here either.’ Shikaku would rather watch something that could actually help them in the long run.

‘I enjoyed it.’ Mikoto says. It’s always great to see people messing around without worrying about some things.

‘I wonder what I would’ve done if that was the question on my chunin test.’ Itachi says. The rest of the room just looks at him.

‘Knowing you, you would get everything right without even trying.’

‘Next up.’ Sasuke yells.

The screen lights up, displaying the words: ‘Words of encouragement’

‘This better be something precious.’ Ino says. She could use some shipping material.

‘I hope it’s important to the future.’ Shikamaru says. ‘This has all been rather entertaining, but I would like to get some answers soon.’

‘Can’t disagree there.’

Naruto is seen walking around a training ground. He has a backpack on his back and seems to have a destination in mind. On the training ground he encounters a girl.

‘Hey Hinata, you’re all better now?’ Naruto asks. Hinata is shocked. She did not hear him coming, not only that it’s her crush Naruto. She blushes and quickly hides herself behind one of the logs there.

‘Someone has a crush.’ Ino squeals. It’s not her OTP but this works just fine. It’s cute, that’s all that matters.

‘Really?’ Naruto blinks. He doesn’t really think he has a crush on anyone. The rest just laughs at his obliviousness.

‘N-Naruto! Wh-what are you doing here? Aren’t the finals today?’ her voice is soft, like her personality.

‘I just felt like coming here, that’s all. This is where I became a genin.’ He explains.

‘Is that important?’ Sasuke asks.

‘Not really.’ Kakashi shrugs off. They must have had the bell test, and passed.

‘O-oh wow but why?’

‘No particular reason. Why does it matter anyway?’ Naruto is a bit weirded out by her behavior. She always acts like that around him. It’s weird.

‘Naruto is so oblivious, it’s funny.’ Kiba laughs. This is hilarious, he could use it as blackmail.

‘Oblivious to what?’ Naruto looks around, he doesn’t get it.

‘I always knew you were horrible at anything to do with love but to this extend?’ Shikamaru mumbles. One day Naruto would see what Hinata thinks of him. Hinata meanwhile only blushes. Naruto is so cute when he acts all oblivious like that.

‘You’re r-right. I’m sorry.’ Hinata hides herself even more.

Naruto sighs. ‘Neji’s your cousin, right?’

‘What does Neji have to do with anything?’ Tenten asks. He really came out of nowhere.

‘Judging by the context it might be Naruto’s opponent in the finals.’ Shikamaru explains. It would be a tough match for Naruto, knowing his fighting style.

‘Scary.’

‘Yeah.’ Hinata nods.

‘He really is strong, isn’t he?’ Naruto is nervous for the upcoming match. Hinata nods. Naruto grumbles, this is not what he wants.

‘Naruto is nervous.’ Sasuke laughs. Naruto shoots him a glare. Sasuke would get nervous too if he had to face someone like Neji.

‘B-but I really think, of all people, you have a chance to win against him, Naruto!’ She’s encouraging. ‘Cause…’

‘Sure. Cause I’m strong too!’ Naruto shrugs of what Hinata was about to say. He laughs and then the conversation turns awkward.

‘Put two socially awkward people together and the conversation would soon turn awkward.’ Tsume laughs. This is amazing to watch. She could totally tease Hiashi with this information.

‘What a surprise.’

‘Y-you know, I… when you cheered me on, Naruto, I felt like somehow I became stronger than before and when the prelims were over, I started to like myself just a little bit more.’ Hinata smiles. ‘From the outside, I might not seem any different, but I feel like I’ve changed.’ If she could she would blush even harder. ‘It’s all because of you, at least that’s what I think.’

‘Thanks, Hinata.’ Naruto shoots the girl a smile. Hinata blushes even harder.

‘N-No problem.’ She stutters out. Her father Hiashi fumes in the background. This better not get any farther.

‘Because of me? I guess I’m an awesome influence. Heh.’ Naruto laughs. He’s never had someone thank him like this before. ‘Hey Hinata, is that really how you feel?’

‘Huh?’

‘I might seem really strong, but I’m usually just trying to act tough, because I’m embarrassed about how I screw up all the time.’ Naruto looks down. He’s never admitted it before.

‘This is getting really personal here.’ Naruto mutters. He doesn’t like it when people see him like that.

‘Don’t worry. We’re all embarrassed about something.’ Iruka says. He’s got plenty of embarrassing things he does as well. Like putting the release dates of new books on his calendar, they’re one of the few things he can look up to.

‘Like Sasuke about that one time with the pamphlets.’ Itachi says.

‘Nii-san shut up!’ Sasuke is red in the face. It must have been something really embarrassing for him to act like that.

‘That’s not true. And even if you do mess up, if you ask me, you’re a proud failure.’ Naruto looks on in shock. ‘You’re really inspiring to watch because you’re not perfect and because you make mistakes, but you still have the guts to get back up and keep fighting. That’s what I consider true strength. I-I believe you’re an incredibly strong person, Naruto.’

‘I ship it.’ Ino says. While Sasuke and Naruto would be amazing together, Hinata and Naruto would be one of the cutest things on the planet.

‘What?’ Naruto looks at the other. She’s crazy.

‘They’re cute together. I’m willing to bet they end up together.’ She tells the people in the room, quite a couple agree with her.

‘How much?’ Jiraiya has already taken out his wallet.

‘No gambling in the room please.’ The Hokage tells his student. He should learn.

‘Hinata would not marry someone like that.’ Hiashi firmly states. The rest just laugh at him.

‘Sure, sure.’ Tsume slaps him on the back forcefully enough for him to lean forward quite a bit.

‘Thanks Hinata!’ Naruto smiles, a true one from the heart. ‘You know, funnily enough, I was actually feeling a little depressed earlier but now suddenly I’m feeling a lot better!’ Naruto cheers. ‘You know what I thought about you?’

‘Huh?’ Hinata was not expecting that.

‘Naruto is going to say something ridiculous.’ Sasuke can already feel it.

‘I thought you were sort of a weirdo dark, plain, and timid.’ Hinata slumps. ‘But actually, I think I kind of like folks like you!’ Hinata is shocked. This is the closest she’s ever been to Naruto. Then the scene ends.

‘Well if this wasn’t adorable.’ Shisui laughs. Sometimes he wishes he had someone like that around him, but then he remembers the fangirl curse and those thoughts quickly leave his head.

‘With some truly inspiring words.’ The Hokage agrees. Young love, it’s so sweet.

‘But nothing on the future.’ Shikaku complains once again.

‘Naruto battles Neji. Does that count?’ Itachi asks.

‘No.’

Notes:

Crossdressing boy -> mystery man

Madara (with rinnegan) & dead Hokage are alive

Madara and Hashirama met as children (the idiots)
Madara can’t pee with someone behind him -> weakness

Red cloud organization Akatsuki
Members: - Deidara
- Sasori
- Itachi ???
- Kisame
Captured a random dude with red hair Gaara (Naruto cares about that guy)
Goal: possibly collecting bijuu -> might have to do with Juubi

Mizuki is evil

Kakashi’s real face is still a mystery :(
Kakashi is teacher of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura

Weird socially inept boy is part of Naruto’s team as well as Tenzo (he’s rude)

Sasuke might have a thing for Naruto and vice versa

Kakashi and Sasuke are missing at some point in the future (but still alive)

People to watch out for:

- Madara
- Sakura (don’t piss her off, don’t forget)
- Red cloud people

Itachi killed of the entire Uchiha clan, except himself and Sasuke. (Where am I?)

Two brothers were fishing before chakra was a widespread thing.

Strong people are weak against naked people of the preferred gender. (Naruto takes advantage of that)

Sasuke has the mangekyo and rinnegan?
Naruto is glowing
Sakura has a thing on her forehead
Kakashi has two normal eyes
Strange half white dude?

Goddess flying with black creature thing in her arms (has byakugan, and a third eye on her forehead) (according to Kakashi a god)

The Kyuubi kind of likes Naruto

Ibiki is troll

Hinata and Naruto are so going to get married and have children. Don’t let Hiashi convince you otherwise.

‘So, what’s up next?’

Everyone stares intently at the screen, they have to wait before it gives them the next title. ‘The cat says meow’ the screen reads.

‘Cat?’ Naruto blinks. Where does the cat come from? Could it be that weird cat with the bow he always sees walking around?

‘Are they going to go to granny?’ Sasuke asks his brother. It’s a valid point.

‘I doubt it.’

Iruka thinks for a bit. ‘One of the bijuu is cat, if I remember correctly.’

‘Who knows what it’s about.’

Chapter Text

The scene starts with a woman running through a dark hallway. She’s panting and watching her back, as if she’s being followed. Then the sound of something being thrown is heard. She manages to dodge it in time. The object thrown is attached to a type of string. As the water around the weapon clears it becomes obvious what it is. A rather unique scythe.

‘Who is she?’ Naruto asks. He points to the woman on screen.

‘I’m not sure.’ Kakashi says. He certainly hasn’t seen her before.

‘Well girl, you did pretty well but,’ a man says. ‘then again, my attack speed is the slowest and my aim worst among the Akatsuki, so I probably can’t hit you anyway.’ A close up appears of the man’s hand. He’s wearing a ring on his left pointing finger.

‘We don’t know these guys yet.’ Ino says.

‘I hope we get some names.’ Shisui agrees. He’s ready to take notes.

‘Just as I suspected. You are from the Akatsuki.’ The woman they were chasing said. She’s still quite young and from the Cloud village.

‘No wonder we don’t know her. If she’s a jinchuuriki and from another village, it’s likely they kept her hidden.’ Itachi says. He keeps his eyes out on anything that might tell them when this happens. He’s trying to create a timeline.

‘She doesn’t seem that old yet.’ Shisui agrees. He would guess her to be around Kakashi’s age in this moment.

Then another voice, the other’s partner, starts speaking. ‘She’s all yours.’ His voice has a strange tone to it. He too is wearing a ring, but this time on his left middle finger.

Then the shot changes to view both character in the full. One of them is wearing a mask and only his eyes are showing. Not only that his eyes are a strange color. The other man is still quite young, silver hair. The first is from the waterfall village and the other is from the hot springs village.

‘That guy with the mask seems familiar.’ Hiruzen says. He’s sure he’s seen him before.

‘From what?’ Hiashi asks. If they could get information things would be a lot easier.

‘I don’t know.’

‘Me? You’re usually the doer.’ The man with silver hair says to his partner.

‘She’s the jinchuuriki of the two-tails. Be careful, Hidan, or you’ll die.’ The man with the mask says. Somehow his tone is a bit mocking.

‘Of the two tails. Does that mean they’ve got the eight-tails already?’ Itachi asks. Not many of the jinchuuriki are known. They only know about B because of his efforts during the previous war.

‘I doubt it. B is quite proficient with his power, and due to his closeness with the Raikage I doubt they would go after him before her.’ Kakashi explains. He’s heard his teacher talk about the man. He’s not someone to take lightly.

‘That makes sense.’

‘Oh, come on Kakuzu, I’d like nothing better than to be killed.’ The newly named Hidan speaks.

‘Kakuzu and Hidan. They don’t sound familiar.’ Shisui grumbles. Many of these Akatsuki people are not guys they are familiar with.

‘Unbelievable.’ The Hokage’s eyes are wide.

‘What?’

‘Kakuzu has been around for a long time. He fought the first Hokage and got to live.’ He explains. He had only seen a snippet of the fight back then, it was the talk of the town that week.

‘He did what?!’ Iruka is shocked. That guy must be nearly a century old and he looks in such a good shape.

‘That’s not good.’ Sasuke says.

The woman meanwhile readies herself. She knows these people are dangerous.

‘Let’s do it.’ Kakuzu says, ready to start attacking but his partner stops him.

‘Hold on. I need to confer with my god first.’ Hidan takes out a necklace and holds it up to his face. His eyes are closed. The woman is not sure what to think about the man.

‘He’s religious?’ Kiba blinks. That’s not what he expected from a criminal.

‘Might be something worth looking into.’

‘You and your god. Always such a bother.’ Kakuzu complains.

‘It’s bothersome to me too, but the commandments are strict, so I have no choice.’ Hidan explains to his partner, it’s like they forgot the woman was even there.

She sees this as her chance. ‘You think you chased me in here? Actually,’ she makes a seal with her hands, ‘I lured you here!’

‘Go strange lady!’ Naruto cheers on the woman. He likes her already. Something about her just makes him want to root for her. Maybe it’s the fact that they both are being targeted by those strange guys.

Then an explosion-tag she stuck on the wall behind the men explodes and they are trapped in the room with her. And it’s not just the exit behind them, it’s all of them lining the walls.

‘Now that I know you are Akatsuki, I’m not letting you get away.’

‘Oh dear, we’ve been shut in Kakuzu.’ Hidan speaks but he doesn’t sound concerned in the slightest.

‘No problem, it’s better this way.’

‘This won’t be an easy fight for her.’ Shikamaru points out.

‘Upon my name, Nii Yugito of Kumogakure, I swear I will kill you!’ She’s determined to get away from these guys. If they get her then she will die.

‘We got a name!’ Shisui cheers. Now he can write that down.

‘You swear to kill me?’ Hidan scoffs. ‘You know, when people say such things to me I get irritated. And when I get irritated I lose my temper. And when I lose my temper…’

‘Shut up Hidan.’

‘Whatever.’ Hidan shrugs of his partner. ‘But you know, when I lose my temper I start thinking, who cares about the mission, it’s time to attack.’ Hidan’s expression doesn’t change but it somehow gets more terrifying with each word he speaks.

‘These two are quite the duo, aren’t they?’ Iruka blinks. He wouldn’t put people like that together.

‘I wonder why they’ve been paired.’ Fugaku agrees. There must be a reason.

‘Deidara and Sasori wasn’t much better.’ Sasuke points out. Remembering the conversation about art that they had.

‘That’s right.’

‘Enough Hidan. The mission is absolute.’ Kakuzu scolds his partner.

‘But these assignments just don’t fit with my belief system.’ Hidan laughs. ‘Total slaughter is the motto of the church of Jashin. There’s even an actual commandment that prohibits half-killing.’ Yugito narrows her eyes. ‘So, I really don’t feel like doing a job that requires me to break a commandment. Despite how it might seem I’m a pretty pious man, and since it’s so bothersome not to be able to kill you, perhaps we could settle this through negotiation?’

‘The church of Jashin…’ Shikaku is racking his brain in search of hints.

‘Does it sound familiar?’ Chouza asks. He noticed the concentrated look on his friends face.

‘Not at all. Might be something to keep in mind.’ He explains. ‘The man looks still young, I would think early twenties, if this takes place around the time that Naruto is older, which I think it is, then he would be around the same age as Itachi right now.’

‘Recruit him before someone else does, huh?’ Kakashi could see the use in that.

Yugito frowns. Who does this man think he is. ‘Negotiation?’ She asks, clearly still suspicious.

‘Just surrender, why don’t you?’ Hidan responds as if it’s an actual good deal.

‘As if she would.’ Sasuke snorts.

‘Nobody would just lay down their life like that.’ Shino agrees. He certainly wouldn’t.

Yugito is not amused and starts powering herself up. Blue flames surround her. ‘You must be joking.’ she screams. The blue flames are decorated with black flames.

‘Do I get to do cool stuff like that too?’ Naruto asks the adults. Of course, he would ask something like that.

‘I’m not really sure. The previous jinchuuriki of the nine-tails hadn’t been trained in using the power that much.’ The hokage explains. He doesn’t know how else to put it.

‘Then I’ll do my best and master it!’ Naruto resolves.

‘I’ll take that as a no then.’

‘Are you an idiot Hidan?’ Kakuzu is not amused by the fact that he now has to fight the two-tails.

‘At least someone has common sense.’ Shikamaru snorts.

The giant cat monster appears in front of them. It’s as large as the Kyuubi and makes the men look like tiny little ants.

‘I have to admit, I like this one better than the Kyuubi.’ Shisui says. Maybe that’s because it’s a cat, and Uchiha are known to like cats. Or maybe it’s the fire, which Uchiha are also known to like.

‘He doesn’t like you saying that, according to him, he’s the best.’ Naruto says. The rest of the group widens their eyes. Is Naruto talking to the beast?

‘Should we be worried about this?’

Hidan retrieves his scythe. ‘This jinchuuriki host has completely turned herself over to her tailed beast!’

The cat goes for an attack with its paw but Kakuzu jumps in front to stop it. He manages to hold it back with pure strength alone.

‘Do you think they could take her?’ Itachi asks. He’s only ever seen one Bijuu and it scared him enough to fear their power. To think they would stand up to them with just two of them.

‘Kakuzu is rumored to be immortal. If that’s true they might actually stand a chance.’ Kakashi says. He’s heard of the man before, he’s a known bounty hunter.

‘Shit.’

The sounds of the area around them breaking requires Hidan to recompose himself, since the cat doesn’t stop. Now it’s firing a fire ball at him. The impact of the fire ball hitting the walls around them causes the entire building they’re in to collapse.

Hidan gets himself from out of the rubble and speaks. ‘Hot! I thought cat tongues couldn’t tolerate heat.’ He hides himself behind a rock. ‘So, this is the two-tailed demon that’s been called a wraith.’ He starts laughing. ‘I guess this makes me a trapped mouse then. Heh. What a joke.’ Then the screen turns black for a second. Before a hand appears on the screen.

‘Huh, time skip?’ Jiraiya blinks. He was hoping to see some good action, to get an idea on how to train Naruto.

‘We don’t get to see the best part?!’ Naruto screams out.

‘Tch.’ Sasuke agrees with him. He too wanted to see a good fight.

This hand is black with white striped going down it. Judging by the position of the ring one can conclude that this is Hidan’s hand. Then the black starts to fade and return to its natural color.

‘Might this be a technique?’ Chouji asks. He’s never seen anything like it.

‘I think it is.’ Shikamaru says.

Then the shot changes to Hidan laying in some sort of circle with a rod through his body, blood is coming out of him in various places. But he’s still alive as is shown through his breathing.

‘How the heck is he alive! That rod should have killed him, it pierces through his heart!’ Shisui screams out. This is totally unfair!

‘This is not looking good.’ Itachi agrees with him.

Then the shot changes to Yugito hanging by her hands, dead and bloodied.

‘No! The pretty lady died.’ Naruto sobs. He didn’t want it to end like that.

‘It’s been 30 minutes, are you done yet Hidan?’ Kakuzu asks his partner.

‘Shut up! Don’t interrupt the ritual!’ Hidan shouts. He starts sitting up and takes the rod out of his body.

‘Could he also be immortal?’ Inoichi suggests.

‘That would be a problem if we were to face them in the future.’ Shikaku says. He’s already trying to come up with ideas on how to deal with someone like that, nothing so far.

‘No kidding.’

‘You perform that vulgar ritual each and every time, can’t you abbreviate it at all?’ Kakuzu has a piece of paper in his hand but from the distance you can’t see what’s on it.

‘I find it tedious, but a commandment is a commandment. It must be obeyed. And how dare you mention abbreviating it! That’s blasphemy!’ Hidan shouts at his partner but Kakuzu is not paying attention. He’s staring at the map in his hands.

‘His religion is rather strict.’ Sakura says. She’s seen cultists before, and they always have to obey by super strict rules.

‘Like most clans aren’t.’ Shikamaru scoffs. He too has to obey way too many rules.

We still have one assignment left. It’s like finding a needle in a hay stack. Kakuzu turns to his partner. ‘The land of fire is next.’ And that’s where the scene ends.

‘Are they going to go after Naruto?’ Kiba asks.

‘That might be.’ Hiashi says. He could not come up with anything else that they could possibly want.

‘Please let me live.’ Naruto quivers.

‘That was at least enlightening.’ Iruka says. After so many scenes with no future progression they finally got something worth noting.

‘Not important on our side, but it does reveal a bit on the enemies we are to face.’ Shikaku says. His hand is on his chin, stroking his beard.

‘Two supposedly immortal people. I wonder how we’re going to deal with that.’ Shisui mutters. He wouldn’t be the one dealing with it, since he’s probably dead by that time. He just wishes he could help out.

‘Like we always do. Rushing in without a plan and making things up as we go.’ Itachi says. Dealing with enemies like this it might be the best option. They are strong after all.

‘I wonder what’s next.’ Naruto mutters. He hopes it’s something a little happier.

‘Four familiar faces.’ The screen reads as it lit up.

‘I wonder who the familiar faces are.’ Kiba says.

‘To be fair it could be anyone.’ Shikamaru points out. It could be four random ninja they know and still make sense.

‘That’s true.’

The scene starts with a shot of Sasuke’s face. He’s surrounded by three other men. They’re standing in front of a building with the Uzumaki spiral engraved on it.

‘These are not really familiar faces.’ Sakura points out. She’s looking at the group, the only one she recognizes is Sasuke. The others are not familiar in the slightest.

‘I recognize Sasuke and Orochimaru. I don’t how to feel about that.’ Mikoto says. She doesn’t want her boy hanging out with someone so vile.

‘Me neither.’ Her husband agrees.

‘So, this is it?’ Sasuke asks his companions.

‘This place seems to be untouched.’ Orochimaru speaks.

‘It’s in shambles.’ The guy with white hair says. Like the dude with orange hair he’s barefoot.

‘I wonder who they are.’ Ino says. She looks over at the boys, but none of them are particularly her taste. Sasuke is still the best.

‘I think they’re Sasuke’s friends.’ Chouji munches on his chips.

‘He doesn’t sound very happy though.’ Hinata says. Her voice is soft like always but everyone still heard it.

They walk up to the temple. ‘Well, I suppose it is way outside the village.’

The group walks inside. They are standing in front of a wall covered in masks. ‘Which one is it?’ Sasuke asks.

‘They’re in the Uzumaki temple.’ Kakashi says. He’s only been there once, with Kushina. She was showing the place to him.

‘Those masks are creepy.’ Shisui shudders. He’s seen a lot of stuff, but masks still freak him out for some reason.

Hiashi nods. ‘Not to mention dangerous.’ The Uzumaki were feared for a reason.

‘Let’s see, it should be around here somewhere.’ Orochimaru says. A snake slithers out from his arm and closes on a particular mask. The snake takes it of the wall and brings it over to the group.

‘This place gives me the creeps.’ The guy with white hair says. He has pointed teeth, like many ninjas from the Mist. ‘If we found what we’re looking for, let’s leave this place.’

‘He must be from the Mist.’ Iruka says. Only people in the Mist sharpen their teeth like that, something to do with power.

‘It certainly looks that way.’ Jiraiya says. The mist is in quite the shambles at the moment, maybe the kid escaped.

‘I wonder how he knows Sasuke.’ Sakura mutters. He doesn’t really look like the type Sasuke would like to hang out with.

‘Let’s go.’ Orochimaru says. ‘To where all the secrets sleep.’

The next shot appears in a destroyed part of the village. All the building that used to stand there have been reduced to rubble. A rumbling sound emanates from the ground. Sasuke is unsealing a hidden door within the ruins.

‘Sasuke…’ Fugaku looks at his child, sternly.

‘What?’ Sasuke glares back at him. He can’t change his future self’s actions.

‘Don’t reveal clan secrets that easily.’ Shisui had to agree with that.

Kiba laughs. ‘You’re all dead anyway.’ Which brings the mood back down. The Uchiha’s in the room would like not to be reminded of that.

‘The place is completely destroyed.’ Itachi points out. The buildings are brand new, they would not be destroyed by time that soon.

‘Maybe something happened.’ It’s the most likely conclusion. Nothing else could have brought it down.

‘You use a jutsu to remove the entry stone?’ the one with white hair says.

‘There’s not even a trace of the Uchiha’s Nakano shrine.’ Orochimaru says.

‘The exterior doesn’t matter. What’s important is what’s beneath.’ Sasuke tells his companions. He’s in control. He gestures for the others to follow him as he goes below ground.

‘What are they going to do?’ Tenten asks.

‘That’s what I wonder as well.’ Shikamaru says. His guess is as good as hers. They must be there for a reason though.

‘With Orochimaru… I doubt it’s anything good.’ Fugaku watches patiently. He can’t come up with something that would require them to enter the room, it’s more ceremonial than anything.

The next shot is of the group inside the room. Sasuke lights the room up.

‘So, I’m going to get started.’ Orochimaru says. He walks up to the altar and takes of his cloak. ‘It’s best if you stand back.’ He tells Sasuke. Sasuke doesn’t reply but moves away.

Orochimaru puts on the mask. It takes a second for something to happen but when it does it happens. Orochimaru is surrounded by blue chakra, it’s painful for him as he starts screaming. Eventually he stops, and the ghostly figure of the Shinigami appears above him.

‘He looks familiar.’ Naruto says. The people in the room look at him strangely.

‘He does?’ Sasuke asks. He’s never seen that thing before.

‘I don’t know where I’ve seen him before though.’

‘It might be the night of the sealing.’ Hiruzen explains. ‘It’s the Shinigami of the reaper death seal.’ Nobody can guess why they are summoning that creature, but they must have a reason.

‘How does he have a memory of that?’ Iruka wonders. As far as he’s concerned people don’t remember things from the day they are born.

Sasuke looks at the creature with his sharingan and narrows his eyes. They are still both the sharingan.

‘He doesn’t have the rinnegan yet.’ Sakura points out. The other blink. She’s right.

‘He must have gotten it later.’ Shisui says. Ready to take notes.

‘It gives us at least a reference for some time line.’ Itachi too is taking notes, but on a timeline. Little things like that help him a lot.

‘In order to perform what is written in the scroll, first the Shinigami mask is necessary.’ Orochimaru explains. ‘Then one must allow the Shinigami of the reaper death seal to possess oneself and guide it forth. Slice open the Shinigami’s abdomen and the seal will come undone.’ Orochimaru explains. The knife is taken from the death god’s mouth and stabbed into its stomach. ‘Though I shall then end up a human sacrifice.’ Blood comes forth out of Orochimaru’s stomach.

‘Ew.’

‘Orochimaru willing to give up his own life?’ Jiraiya is shocked. ‘That can’t be.’ That man did everything to keep himself alive for as long as possible. It’s something out of character for him.

‘He must have something to get out of it.’ Tsume says. She’s seen the man only in passing but knows enough to agree with Jiraiya.

‘However, it will also allow me to get back both my arms from inside the Shinigami’s belly.’ A couple blue spirits appear from the stomach, two of which go to Orochimaru and settle inside his arms. They’re back. ‘And if I can regain the power that lies in those arms, I can perform Edo Tensei. Yes, I can revive those four.’ The screen cuts to four spirit floating in front of them. ‘Of course, you are well aware of what will then become necessary.’ Orochimaru explains.

‘I wonder who those four are.’ Ino is tapping her desk. They better be handsome, or useful. The handsome part is better though.

‘One of them is the fourth Hokage. He used the seal during the sealing of the Kyuubi.’ Hiruzen explains further.

‘That’s one of four.’

‘You’re planning on using us as sacrifices for the Edo Tensei, aren’t you?!’ the one with white hair screams at Orochimaru.

‘That’s not such a bad idea, but we’ve actually got something even better than you guys. Though it’s still invisible to you yet.’ Flashback Orochimaru tells them.

‘What could that be?’ Kiba asks. He doesn’t see anything.

‘Must be something.’ Shino agrees. Kiba gives him a shove. How dare he be mysterious like that.

Then we cut back to present Orochimaru. He takes of the mask. ‘Jugo, Sasuke, Suigetsu, get ready!’ he tells the other boys. Orochimaru is sweating slightly.

Then the orange guy, Jugo, turns his arm grey and walks over to Sasuke. ‘Alright.’ As he puts his hand on Sasuke he starts shrinking and white globs appear from Sasuke’s body.

‘What?’ The group watches in awe and disgust.

‘That’s gross.’ Ino doesn’t even want to think how these got stuck on Sasuke.

The globs eventually turn more humanlike but are missing half their faces. ‘And when you do, the Zetsu that Tobi stuck unto Sasuke to watch him should respond and rise to the surface.’ Six of these Zetsu appear from Sasuke.

‘Zetsu.’ Itachi goes through everything he’s learned. ‘Never heard of them before.’

‘They look strange.’ Shisui says. Somehow, he thinks these creatures are more important than they look. Better not that down.

‘Damn it! How did you?’ one of the creatures speaks.

‘I know your Hashirama cells inside and out from my experiments.’ Orochimaru explains to them. He’s panting. ‘Including how to detect you, of course.’ Orochimaru looks at them. ‘Six of you, huh? Tobi sure wasn’t taking any chances.’ A snake appears from his body and holds the creature down. ‘I possess those four’s DNA as well, since I love collecting and storing knowledge too.’

‘Hashirama cells?’ Jiraiya has heard of the term before. His teammate Tsunade has done a little research into her grandfather’s cells. Not enough to create something like this though.

‘I might have a clue as to what they are, but I hope that isn’t the case.’ Hiruzen agrees with him.

Four Zetsu are laid down on the ground, surrounded by symbols of a seal. Suigetsu and Jugo are holding the other two down. While Sasuke just watches.

‘Suigetsu, Jugo, take care of the remaining two.’ Orochimaru commands them.

‘Okay, Orochimaru-sama!’ Suigetsu says as he opens the mouth of the Zetsu wide.

‘What’s he gonna do?’ Naruto watches. This scene might not have him in it but it’s still interesting.

Jugo just absorbs the essence of the creature, which allows him to return to his normal size once again.

‘That boy has some strange powers.’ Tsume whistles. She would love to know what else he can do.

‘I think I might have heard of something like that before.’ Shikaku mutters. He can’t remember where exactly though.

‘Edo Tensei no jutsu!’ Orochimaru screams as he puts his hand down.

The jutsu is activated. The four souls enter the Zetsu bodies and a paper like substance starts covering the bodies. The grow higher and higher eventually transforming into a human shape.

‘This is really freaky.’ Sasuke watches in amazement. To think he would watch that as he grows older.

‘Reviving dead people that easily. That’s just strange.’ It goes against everything Kakashi knows.

‘Now, here I come!’ Orochimaru transforms himself into a snake and enters the remaining Zetsu’s body. This allows him to live once again. ‘They who are all-knowing.’

‘Figured as much.’

The shot changes to Sasuke, who’s expression hasn’t changes one bit. Then to the people they’ve revived. All four Hokage. Going from one to four.

‘Oh dear.’ Mikoto hold her hand in front of her mouth.

‘How did they get into the stomach?’ As far as Jiraiya is aware they died not in sealing.

‘Should I be worried that I’m one of the revived.’ The hokage says. He’s going to die. That’s not what he was hoping to learn. It’s not entirely unexpected though. He’s old.

‘Welcome to the club.’ Shisui says. Dead people have to stick together.

‘The previous Hokage!’ Orochimaru shouts.

The shot moves over to Hashirama the first Hokage. ‘That’s the First Hokage?’ Suigetsu asks. ‘The real Hashirama who’s been touted as a God of Shinobi.’

‘Very impressive.’ Naruto laughs. They’d seen the guy as a kid, and he wasn’t that impressive.

That’s when the Hokage seem to regain themselves.

Tobirama starts speaking. ‘Don’t tell me it’s that shinobi Orochimaru again!’

‘Again?’ That worthy to note. Shisui has his pen on paper. They would learn a lot.

‘Maybe that has something to do with why they were in the stomach.’ Kakashi theorizes. It’s strange seeing his teacher again after so many years.

‘Could be.’

‘What do you mean?’ the first asks his little brother.

‘I suspect he undid the Reaper Death Seal that has been keeping us sealed away. And then performed the Edo Tensei.’ The third Hokage explains.

‘No way. You found out how to undo that sealing jutsu?’ the fourth is surprised. ‘How did you do that Mr. Orochimaru?’

‘Of course, he doesn’t know.’ Jiraiya pinches the bridge of his nose. One wouldn’t want to explain that to the guy.

‘Doesn’t know what?’ Naruto asks.

‘Orochimaru’s betrayal.’

‘That makes sense.’ Orochimaru betrayed the village not long after the sealing.

‘You underestimate me, Minato.’ Orochimaru smirks. ‘Originally a sealing jutsu of the Uzumaki clan. I’ve been researching the ruins and scattered documents of the now extinct clan ever since I lost my jutsu.’

Minato then turns to the other Hokage. ‘Lord First. It appears we’ve been called back to the world of the living.’ He explains.

Hashirama inspects this newcomer. ‘Who the hell are you?’ he asks Minato.

‘Am I allowed to laugh?’ Kiba asks, already laughing. He’s not the only one.

‘Go ahead.’

Everyone turns to look at Minato. ‘Oh, uh, I’m the Fourth Hokage, sir.’ He turns around to show the awesome embroidery on his back.

‘Oh? The Fourth you say? I see.’ Hashirama nods. ‘So, the village has remained stable!’

‘Why is he so cheerful all of a sudden?’ Sasuke glares at the man. Something about him is familiar, it also rubs him the wrong way.

‘We saw him as a child before. It’s strange to think that he retained that part of himself.’ Itachi is grinning as well. As much as the tales make the man seem scary he’s just a giant puppy.

‘An odd man indeed.’ Fugaku says. He always thought the man must have been like his brother, stern and strict. To learn he’s not like that at all… it’s a little strange.

‘Well, I’m not actually sure if it has or not.’ Minato explains. ‘Because I dead and was sealed away much earlier than Lord Third.’

‘Huh? Is that so… In a separate incident than when I was sealed away with Sarutobi?’

‘That confirms it.’ Shisui nods. Already putting it down on paper.

‘Orochimaru did something, the other two hokage were revived and then sealed away by the current Hokage. That’s the most likely conclusion.’ Shikaku says. He took in consideration everything they know so far.

‘I don’t like that.’ Naruto mumbles. His Jiji is one of his precious people.

Minato rubs the back of his head. ‘Yes, a completely different incident.’ He dares to look sheepish.

‘He looks like Naruto.’ Kiba points out. Most of the adults go still.

‘You think?’ Naruto blinks, he did not expect that.

‘Eh…’ No comment is said further on the topic. Shikamaru looks at the crowd and already made his own conclusion. The others are just stupid enough not to notice.

‘So, who’s the fifth Hokage?’ Hashirama asks Minato. But Minato doesn’t know.

‘I wonder.’

Orochimaru steps in to explain. ‘Your granddaughter, princess Tsunade.’

‘That makes a certain amount of sense.’ Jiraiya blinks. After it was revealed that she does come back to the village he always thought it would be for a reason. This does make sense.

‘I studied under a Hokage.’ Sakura mutters.

‘You’re not the only one.’ Kakashi eye smiles. Jiraiya smiles as well.

‘I’m going to be one!’ Naruto cheers on.

The mood immediately shifts. Hashirama is in one of his depressive moods again. ‘Tsuna, huh? Is the village okay?’

‘Why isn’t he happy?’ Fugaku is confused. The man should be happy that one of the Senju took over once again. Yet he’s not? He doesn’t get him. Not that he particularly minds Tsunade as Hokage. She’s not affiliated with the rivalry, instead dismissing it before he was even born.

Minato laughs. ‘Is there something to be worried about?’

‘She was my first grandchild, so I spoiled her rotten! In the end, she even picked up my gambling habit…’ at the end he starts laughing, as if it’s something to be proud of.

‘That’s where she got it from.’ Jiraiya accuses the man. He always wondered.

‘A terrible influence he is.’ Hiruzen agrees. Hashirama might have died while she was only three years old but the influence was enough to last.

He’s not what I expected of someone considered to be the God of Shinobi. Suigetsu has to do his best to keep himself composed. How do I put it? Even Orochimaru has a little sweatdrop on the back of his head.

‘The reanimation Jutsu again… I can’t believe the jutsu I devised would be used so casually.’ Tobirama says as he inspects his body.

‘I don’t think anyone expected that.’ Iruka says. Reviving the dead is not something anyone would just use.

‘It’s not a complex jutsu. However, you should not have created it in the first place.’ Orochimaru begins. Tobirama is curious to see what he’s getting at. ‘Many of your policies and jutsu that you developed ended up causing problems later on down the line. Even now…’

‘For once I have to agree with him.’ Fugaku mutters. This fragment is really starting to surprise him.

‘Why you!’ Tobirama points at Orochimaru. ‘Are you planning on attacking the Leaf again?’

Hiruzen looks at his student. ‘I took away you jutsu in exchange for my own life. Yet you still,’ He says. ‘And this time you revived me, your former teacher, to pit me against the Leaf!’

‘That confirms the theory.’ Shikaku says.

Hashirama puts his head in his hand. ‘Conflict, no matter the era. It certainly cannot be called that great a jutsu. Tobirama that’s why I told you that time to…’ but before he can end his sentence he’s interrupted.

‘Will you be quiet, brother? I’m trying to talk to this stripling right now.’

‘But I.’

‘Shut up!’ And Hashirama is depressed again.

‘They’re an interesting pair.’ Kakashi watches. This was certainly not what he expected the first to Hokage to be like.

‘You wouldn’t want to know how many times Tobirama-sensei had to rush in and stop his brother from doing something stupid.’

‘I can guess.’ Judging by what they are watching. A lot.

He’s not so dignified for the God of Shinobi! Suigetsu screams in his mind.

‘Please do not misunderstand. I don’t have any more leanings in that direction. Haven’t you noticed that I’m not suppressing your personalities?’ Orochimaru explains. ‘There are certain circumstances at play this time. I’m merely creating a stage for discourse per his strong desire.’ Then the scene ends.

‘Oh, come on!’ Naruto yells.

‘Ending at the best part!’ Sasuke says too. This thing is really starting to bother him. The previous scene skipped the fun part as well.

‘Stupid thing.’ Kiba mutters.

‘I suppose it was going to show something we do not have the luxury of knowing yet.’ Shikamaru explains. Trying to put reasoning behind what the robot is keeping from them.

‘It’s still stupid.’ Naruto glares.

‘At least we know how the First was alive in that one fragment.’ Shisui points out.

‘It didn’t explain Madara however.’ Itachi says. Does that mean someone else revived him?

‘Bit and pieces.’

‘We’ll get there eventually.’ Shikaku is certain. This device can take however long it wants and they wouldn’t notice it in the real world. It would help them tremendously.

‘What’s next?’

The screen light up. ‘A blue beast and a Tanuki fetch some bones.’

‘Lee and Gaara again?’ Naruto blinks. Why doesn’t he get the spotlight some more!

‘Probably.’

‘What is the bone part about?’ Kiba wonders. Akamaru likes to fetch bones. No offence to Lee but he doesn’t seem like the type.

‘We can only guess at this point.’

The scene starts with Sasuke running away from something.

‘What’s got you running Sasuke?’ Shisui teases the boy. Sasuke shrugs and leaves it at that.

‘Sasuke wait!’ Naruto yells out at him but Sasuke disappears inside the forest. Naruto with his limited speed isn’t able to catch up to him.

‘What is going on? I thought we were going to see Lee and Gaara again.’ Tenten complains.

‘I think we’ll get our explanation soon.’

Then something appears behind him. ‘Forget it… in death!’ a voice speaks behind him. It’s a guy, probably a couple years older than Naruto, with white hair and two red dots on his forehead. He reaches out to slash Naruto’s neck.

‘Who’s that?’ Naruto asks but he doesn’t get an answer.

‘Konoha hurricane!’ a voice yells out and manages to stop the guy from hitting Naruto. It’s Rock Lee!

‘Who?’ the boy is confused.

Rock Lee however isn’t intimidated in the slightest. ‘Konoha’s handsome blue beast is back. The name’s Rock Lee!’

‘Talk about entrances.’ Kakashi is not impressed. Gai had a habit of doing much worse.

‘I wonder who the other guy is.’ Shisui mutters. He hasn’t appeared anywhere before.

‘He kind of looks like the flying lady from the before.’ Naruto points out. The rest of the group takes in his appearance. The white hair, as well as the zigzag split in his hair are features they both shared.

‘I can see the resemblance, but I thought we already decided she’s a Hyuuga.’ Shisui points out. He’s pretty sure that’s what he wrote down.

Hiashi doesn’t agree. ‘We did not.’

‘Alrighty then.’

Naruto looks at his friend, concerned about something. ‘Bushy brows. How’s it you’re… I thought…’

‘Naruto! I’ll handle it! Just get to Sasuke!’ Lee yells out. Naruto nods. ‘Leave this guy to me!’

‘I wonder what happened to Lee.’ Sakura watches in concern. He did get hurt previously.

‘I think we already saw what happened.’ Kakashi explains.

‘Ah.’

The white-haired guy observes the newcomer. He’s not as easy as the others.

‘Careful, Bushy Brow! He uses his bones to attack.’ Naruto explains.

‘Bones?’ Lee is confused until the boy transforms one of his bones into a sword.

‘Bones, huh?’ Shikaku says.

Chouza looks at his friend. ‘What is it?’

‘There is only one known clan that uses their bones, but I thought they were all gone.’

‘Who?’ Inoichi too hasn’t heard of anything like that before. Then again not everyone knows everything.

‘The Kaguya.’

‘I heard about them before. They used to be a rather bloodthirsty clan.’ Of course, Itachi would know them. He knows these kinds of irrelevant things.

‘One of them managed to live, huh.’

‘He’s super strong.’ Naruto tells him.

‘What are you doing! Go! Now!’ Lee yells at him. ‘Naruto remember you played the nice guy and promised Sakura. I’ll beat this guy. That’s my promise!’ Lee gives him a thumbs up. Naruto smiles and turns to run away.

‘Is Sasuke running away?’ Ino asks.

‘Why would he?’ Chouji blinks. He doesn’t see any reason for Sasuke to run away.

‘I don’t know but it’s the only explanation I can come up with.’

Then the scene changes to the hospital. Tsunade is talking to a distraught Gai. ‘What about Lee? How is he? Tell me!’ Tsunade smiles and pats his back.

‘His surgery was a success. If he’s limited to jutsu training, he can start as early as tomorrow. But it wouldn’t hurt to take it easy for a while.’ She explains. Gai is crying happy tears until a couple other medics come rushing in.

‘Good for him.’

‘Lady Tsunade! We’ve got a problem back here. Rock Lee is missing!’ They rush to his room which is empty.

‘He ran away from the hospital…’ Mikoto sighs. This is way too typical.

‘Oh dear, it must have been last night, when I was treating Genma and Raido.’ Tsunade sighs.

‘It’s amazing, this whole time you hardly left his side, yet the moment we take our eyes of him, he slips away.’

‘Sound familiar? Kakashi?’ Hiruzen stares the young man down.

Kakashi does his eye smile. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘That fool. He’s gone chasing after them. See what kind of a hurry he was in, he grabbed my own bottle instead of his medicine.’

Gai’s eyes widen. This is not good. ‘Oh no.’

‘What is it?’ Lee wonders. Does that mean he’s going to die?

‘Tsunade likes drinking alcohol. I can only guess what’s going to happen.’ Jiraiya explains.

‘What’s wrong Gai?’ Tsunade asks, now concerned.

‘If he drinks even one drop of that, terrible things will happen!’

‘Terrible things?’ Tsunade is shocked, this is not what she expected to hear.

‘Does he get drunk or something.’ Shisui laughs. It would be funny to see.

‘He’s still a kid.’ Naruto yells back.

The shot changes back to the fight of Lee and the other guy. ‘Konoha Great Hurricane!’ Lee yells out as he attacks the other boy. The other manages to dodge with ease. Lee goes for another attack which get dodged as well.

‘Your agility surprised me, and your style is singular.’ Lee complements the other. It’s amazing I can’t land a single kick.

‘Is it me or are his attacks less impressive than before.’ Sakura says.

Tsume cuts in to explain. ‘If he just got out of surgery it would make sense.’

‘Your manner is far too direct.’ The other speaks, no emotion in sight. ‘Ready?’ the boy asks.

‘One moment please!’ Lee holds up his hand to stop the other, which the boy does for some reason. Lee goes into his pocket.

‘This is great!’ The people in the room start laughing or smiling.

‘Who actually waits for his opponent?’ Itachi asks, between his fit of giggles.

‘Far more than you think.’ Kakashi smiles.

‘Experience?’

‘Who knows?’

‘Yes?’ The boy doesn’t know what to expect.

‘I’m sorry but it’s time for my medicine, excuse me!’ Lee takes out the bottle and uncorks it. ‘I’ve never been much of one for medicine but…’ then he proceeds to gulp the entire thing down. The other boy watches, slightly fascinated. ‘This is the worst one yet.’ Lee says as he makes a strange face. Then he starts hiccupping.

‘He IS drunk!’ Naruto yells out.

‘Oh my.’

Then the shot changes back to the hospital. ‘You see once we went out to celebrate and Lee accidently downed a cup of someone else’s alcohol. Then things started to get out of hand. When he came to, the place was a disaster,’ Gai speaks as Lee is shown wobbling around the field he’s in.

‘Disaster?’ Tsunade asks.

‘When Lee drank the drink,’ Lee is shown with a large blush on his face, completely drunk but still in a fighting position, ‘He went berserk!’

‘Don’t tell me he unlocks some sort of secret power.’ Neji is utter dumbfounded by this ridiculousness. He can only hope that at some point he’ll get to see himself do something cool.

‘That would be funny.’ Sasuke laughs. Neji scoffs.

Tsunade is even more shocked. ‘What?’

The other boy is just as surprised. What in heaven did that boy drink? He finds himself wondering.

‘It must seem like some sort of steroid to the guy.’

Then Gai starts speaking again. ‘I’m saying he’s a natural born user of the drunken fist!’

‘Drunken fist?’ Iruka hasn’t heard of something like that before.

Kakashi explains. ‘It’s a… how do you say it, strange fighting style. I thought it was just a myth but to actually see it happen.’

‘Someone gets drunk and they start fighting at their best?’ One of his eyebrows is raised, a bit skeptical.

‘Something like that.’

Lee’s eyes are not completely open, and he can’t stand still but he takes a fighting position nonetheless. He hics once again but then rushes at the other in a super speed. ‘Hyeeer I comah!’

‘He’s so drunk.’ Naruto laughs.

‘I’m so drunk.’ Lee looks a little down. He’s being made a fool off.

He goes for a punch but the boy dodges, then comes a kick, but it gets dodged again. Lee continues his assault before he finally manages to land a hit. The boy flies back by the sheer force of it. Before he can compose himself Lee spins at him and hits him once more.

The boy is stumped. He’s too hard to predict, moreover, too fast!

‘No wonder, he’s drunk.’ Tsume is watching but still laughing. This got to be the funniest fighting style she’s ever seen.

Lee puts his hands on the ground and goes for a kick to the head, the boy manages to stop him with one of his bones. Then it’s time for the boy to start attacking as well. ‘Camellia dance!’

He keeps stabbing in Lee’s direction, but he isn’t able to land a hit. Lee is able to dodge them all without effort. Then Lee goes to grab the bone the boy is holding. Then for his knee, and finally kicks him in the shins. Which causes the boy to fly back, once more.

‘He’s not dodging, he just gets out of the way fast enough.’ Tenten says. This is actually quite fun to watch. Even if it doesn’t include any weapons.

‘Isn’t that the same thing.’ Hinata looks at the girl. Tenten shrugs.

Lee goes for the attack again, then the boy goes again. It goes on like this for quite a while until Lee gets a hit right in the chest of the boy. ‘Hic!’

The boy is at a slight loss. I can’t read his moves. He hit me. That taijutsu is something else. The boy starts exposing his chest. There is a strange pattern on it. I’m left with no choice. He cracks some of his bones, audibly, before they start emerging from his skin. The places where the bones are broken are obvious. ‘My abilities stem from my bones. You were warned by your cloning friend, no?’

‘This is slightly disturbing.’ Ino doesn’t like him. He’s gross. Not dateable at all.

‘To break your own bones… on purpose.’ Kiba shiver. He’s broken plenty of bones already and it’s never a pleasant experience.

‘Just gross.’

Lee tilts his head to the side. The boy goes to attack once again, but Lee still manages to prevent getting hit. He’s still smiling. That is until bones start emerging from the boy’s rib cage. They manage to scratch his face.

‘Ew.’

‘Unorthodox, aren’t I? This is my bloodline limit.’ The boy explains. Lee is on the ground, blood dripping down his cheeks. ‘Looks like you’ve pulled yourself together. My bloodline limit grants me complete control of my osteoblasts and osteoclasts, with it I regulate my calcium mass and concentrate it into bones.’

‘Thank you for the info!’ Shisui cheers as he goes to write that down, then doesn’t do it because it’s too difficult.

Lee stands up again.

‘The human body is composed of just over two hundred bones, and yet for me that number is not fixed.’ He pulls back the bones into his ribcage. Lee sees this as his moment to attack. As soon as he gets close the boy yells out: ‘Larch dance!’ And all the bone and more emerge from his chest once again. Lee is shocked. He actually got poked that time.

‘Ouch.’ Naruto winces. That must hurt.

‘C’mon me.’ Lee watches himself. How is he going to get out of that? He hopes alive.

Lee is panting, that hit was painful.

‘You still awake?’ The boy asks, almost mocking.

‘For some reason I don’t feel so good,’ Lee says as he starts standing up once again, ‘well, anyway, this is where the real fight begins.’ He is sober once again. Right now, my job is to hold him as long as I can. So, I guess I should avoid any moves big enough to, well, kill me. I just got out of surgery, so I can’t go crazy, but maybe I can just open the first gate, that would be enough.

‘Don’t, it will only hurt you.’ Sakura yells at the Lee on screen.

Lee stands up and starts circling the boy, fast. The other is surprised, he didn’t think Lee would have it in him. ‘Forward Lotus!’ Lee screams as he goes for the attack. He hits the boy in the chest, but nothing happens. The boy managed to catch Lee in his ribcage.

‘This is not looking too good.’ Jiraiya says. That Kaguya boy is not someone to take lightly.

‘Impressive speed but it stops here!’ The boy puts his hand near Lee’s face. But he gets interrupted as someone else joins the fight.

It is Gaara.

‘Gaara!’ Naruto cheers. He’s happy to see his friend. Even if they haven’t met before.

‘He comes back to save Lee!’ Ino has stars in her eyes. They would make such a good couple.

‘Friendship!’ Lee yells. Ino glares at him. No way it’s just friendship.

Gaara looks at the person in front of him. ‘Gaara of the Sand.’

‘Gaara is your name.’ The boy spreads his arms and launches a buttload of bone bullets in their direction.

Gaara stops the rain of bullets with his sand. It’s not that difficult for him. ‘You’re impatient.’ Gaara says to the boy but then turns to Lee. ‘When we last fought you were faster and sharper than this.’

Lee composes himself. ‘Thanks for reminding me. Not that I hold a grudge, but you really did a number on me.’ Lee explains.

‘We could see. That wasn’t an injury to take lightly.’ Kakashi mutters. That he was able to be restored in an amazing feat.

Gaara’s face is not shown. ‘I see.’ He sounds a tad disappointed, maybe even regretful.

‘He learned.’ Sasuke points out.

‘Something must have changed him.’ Shikamaru says. He means what he says. Such a personality change doesn’t just happen.

‘Anyway, why are you here?’ Lee asks.

Gaara thinks. ‘I owe Konoha a great debt.’ Naruto is shown running through the forest.

‘Maybe it’s what happened between Gaara and Naruto that made the connection between them so strong.’ Mikoto suggests. She knows all too well that friendship can change a person.

‘If our theory is correct, which it likely is, then that could make them closer as well. As jinchuuriki.’ Shikaku agrees, he can’t believe he’s discussing friendships now.

‘I wish I could meet all the others.’ Naruto yells out.

They get themselves ready for the next attack. ‘I’ll handle this.’ Gaara says but Lee disagrees.

‘No! Please back me up instead!’ And Lee sprints forward. But then he falls to the ground once again. Gaara had put a hand of sand around his ankle. ‘C’mon let go!’ Lee screams but then he winces in pain.

‘Gaara looking out for Lee in his own strange way.’ Ino is squealing at the amount of possible material she’s getting. They are such an OTP.

‘You’re in no shape to fight.’ Gaara explains. ‘I’ll handle this.’

‘Gaara of the Sand. So, as the name suggests you are of the sand.’ The boy analyzes the newcomer.

‘He’s good.’ Naruto says in all seriousness.

‘He just analyzed the obvious.’ Sasuke says, bursting Naruto’s bubble.

‘He attacks with his bones. Like you saw, he fires them or juts them out of his body. It’s as amazing as it’s disturbing.’

Gaara lets some of the sand escape from his gourd. While the boy lets his bone retract.

The sand defends him like a reef, this man is no melee fighter. The boy splits his fingertips open. Approach, I see will be task.

‘What’s he gonna do now?’ Sasuke wonders out loud. This battle is really intriguing.

‘We’ll see.’ Neji scoffs.

‘This is getting good!’ Naruto is bouncing in his chair again. It ticks of the people next to him who try to calm him down, but it doesn’t work.

The boy jumps up and spins while sending another array of bullets in Gaara’s direction. Gaara doesn’t have to do anything for the sand to come rushing out to protect him.

Lee watches in amazement. There’s no waste in his movement, he’s a master.

‘It doesn’t take any effort whatsoever.’ Itachi is impressed. Someone like Gaara would be a worthy opponent. His mind is already coming up with strategies.

Gaara sends more sand to the boy who dodges, and again, and again. It gives the boy enough time to properly analyze the attacks. Offence and defense in one, but the sand in his control must be limited to what’s in that gourd. Then he starts taunting Gaara. ‘A foolish stage name, reliant on only sand.’ And betrayed by the size of his store. Then Gaara sends a rain of sand bullets at the boy. But the boy is not impressed. What a one trick phony.

‘That’s what you think! Gaara is way better than that!’ Naruto yells at the screen.

‘Yeah!’ Lee agrees with him.

The boy was prepared to jump away but finds he can’t. Gaara has used his sand to grip onto his legs.

‘So long as I have sand I can do anything.’ Gaara explains. The sand around the boy’s legs is creeping up. ‘Tell me again who’s stupid, making sand from soil is no art.’ Then the sand encases the boy completely.

‘That’s very true.’ Shisui has done it before. One a mission. That he came back from covered in mud.

‘You got him!’ Lee cheers.

‘Not just yet.’ Gaara says. Then he crushes the sand, blood comes out of the cocoon. Then a hand with strange marking on it and then the rest of the boy’s body.

‘That looks awfully deadly.’ Tsume winces. No one would like to be caught in that.

‘No kidding, gruesome.’ Mikoto agrees with her friend.

‘More bones, huh? He’s a real freak, isn’t he?’ Gaara says.

‘He’s certainly a nuisance.’ Lee agrees.

‘That pressure was a feat. Without this layer I created underneath my skin, I would have been dead meat for sure.’ Lee and Gaara could see that underneath the skin of the boy a layer of bone is protecting him. ‘I underestimated you and yet your sand won’t hold me twice.’ The boy growls, his skin is darkening.

‘What’s happening?’ Sasuke asks. No one has an answer for him.

‘I don’t have a clue.’

Gaara acts. ‘Sand tsunami!’ And a tsunami of sand appears in front of him. It covers the boy entirely. The entire valley in front of them is covered in sand.

‘You did it…’ Lee says, impressed.

‘Not yet!’ Gaara says as he puts his hands on the ground and pushes the sand down. The pressure underneath the sand must be strong enough to hurt the boy. Gaara scoffs. ‘Won’t he ever give up?’

‘Holy heck.’ Gaara had gotten a lot stronger since the previous fight. That much is obvious.

‘That’s one jutsu I don’t want to be caught in.’ Naruto shivers. Gaara is awesome but dangerous. Better not piss him off.

A hand comes from underneath the sand and then the rest of the boy. Gaara doesn’t waste another second and encases the boy once again. But the boy is still managing to get out.

His skin has darkened a lot and the bones coming out him have tripled in size. Not only that he’s rushing at them with some impressive speed. Gaara doesn’t let himself be surprised and makes a wall in between them but the boy manages to get through with ease. He hit Gaara and Gaara flies back.

‘He unlocked some secret power.’ Iruka watches. This is not a fight he would like to participate in. Let him do the normal stuff. The others can deal with Bijuu and people like this.

‘What could it be?’ Neji wonders.

‘That’s the question isn’t it?’

‘Is this all there is to your so-called defense? What a joke.’ The boy’s voice has changed, it’s rougher, corrupted. Gaara’s sand armor is breaking. ‘So, you coat yourself with sand.’

‘He’s not your only opponent!’ Lee screams as he’s behind the boy. ‘I’m here too!’ he kicks the boy in the side of the head. He was about to kicked back by the boy’s tail? But Gaara stopped the assault with his sand. But the impact is still enough to send Gaara flying. My body’s still, I’ll only get in the way.

‘Just sit this one out. It’s good for you.’ Sakura tells him.

‘Yes ma’am.’ Lee yells at her. Smiling. Sakura is such a pretty girl, and she’s kind too.

The boy also has some strange markings on his face. ‘This sand’s a nuisance, you’re the first to go Gaara!’ The boy puts his hand on his back and slowly rips his spinal cord out of himself. The tearing of skin is loud enough for the others to hear.

‘What the hell!’ Naruto yells.

‘That the weirdest sword I’ve ever seen.’ Shisui says.

Tenten glares. ‘I don’t think that qualifies as a sword.’ She says. ‘It’s more of a lance.’

‘Iron flower dance!’ He screams out as he slashes at Gaara. Gaara puts up another sand barrier. Gaara has to put in all his strength to defend himself. ‘My bones have calcified as far as they’ll go. They’ll pierce through your body along with the sand shield.’ But then the boy coughs, blood is coming out of his mouth. I guess time is running short.

‘That power must be taking a toll on him.’ Hiashi says. He’s observing the battle. If that boy really is a Kaguya then…

‘No wonder, if his strength increases that much.’

Gaara sees this as his change to counter. ‘Total sand defense Shukaku’s shield!’ A miniature version of Shukaku appears to protect Gaara. Then the shot changes again.

‘That is Shukaku!’ Jiraiya yells. That confirms it. Gaara is a jinchuuriki, 100%.

‘Kabuto how much longer will Kimimaro last?’ A raspy voice says. It’s a familiar voice, Orochimaru’s.

‘What does Orochimaru have to do with this?’ Iruka asks. That came out of nowhere.

‘He should be fine for a while yet.’ Kabuto says, he too has white hair but does wear glasses as well. ‘I treated him the best I could but there’s just too little information on his body.’ Kabuto explains. ‘If only I had his clan’s medical history, or treatment data, things could be a lot different. The only thing I could dig up was an account of how he found himself the last of the Kaguya clan. It’s just the last stop in a bloody history.’

‘I said so.’

Orochimaru doesn’t say anything.

‘The whole foolish clan was wiped out when it challenged the great nation of Kirigakure on their own. Then you rescued the most promising of the young.’

Orochimaru leans down. ‘The Kaguya clan was a clutch of rabble, knowing only the thirst for war. By what I saw of them, the battlefield was the only place they could find their peace. But the era of bloodthirsty beast herds has long passed. The times have changed. Fighting against a well-governed body, with only the weight of force to show for yourself is the final task of a fool rushing to his own well-earned death.’

‘Poetic.’ Shisui scoffs.

‘Orochimaru always had a way with words.’ Hiruzen tells. He remembers the various, rather gruesome, poems the boy wrote during childhood.

‘And yet you thought it a waste to let him die.’ Kabuto says.

‘Who could resist his bloodline limit, the skill to form and deform bones.’

‘Wait!’ Naruto yells out. ‘Does that mean Sasuke is going to Orochimaru?’

‘It’s the most logical conclusion.’ Shikaku agrees with him.

‘It also explains why he’s with him in the previous scene.’ Shikamaru adds.

‘Could Jugo and Suigetsu then also be from Orochimaru’s labs?’ Sasuke wonders.

‘Could be.’

Then we turn back to the fight of Kimimaro versus Gaara and Lee. Kimimaro pushes his spine through the sand of Gaara’s defense. It’s about evenly matched, until Kimimaro’s spine breaks into pieces.

‘I pulled together the densest minerals in the soil, used my chakra to apply pressure and kneaded them into the sand.’ Gaara says. ‘This move of yours is a bloodline limit, yes?’

Naruto is rooting for his friend. ‘C’mon Gaara! You can do this.’

‘It is of the Kaguya clan, a power I alone possess.’ Kimimaro explains.

‘You’re the last of the Kaguya, that means today the clan perishes.’

‘I like Gaara.’ Ino nods.

‘A lot more than in the previous scene.’ Chouji agrees. Gaara in the previous segment was scary. This one is helpful.

‘Indeed, it may be so, my body is ravaged with illness, my days on earth are numbered. And yet I will not be extinguished. For I am not alone. I am an arm of Lord Orochimaru’s ambition. I carried out my part. For that I shall forever remain in his heart.’

‘Somehow I doubt that.’ Jiraiya says. Remembering the betrayal.

‘You’re not the only one.’

Gaara looks at the boy. ‘Orochimaru brainwashed you. How sad.’ He makes a sign and starts moving his sand so Kimimaro is slipping underneath. I’ve done too many big moves, chakra is getting precious. This is it.

Lee watches in amazement. How much chakra is he using?

Kimimaro is being dragged in. ‘You are indeed formidable.’

‘This must be the end.’ Itachi says. Watching as the attacks of the boy slowed down a lot.

‘It doesn’t look like he’ll be able to keep up much longer.’ Kakashi agrees with him.

‘I’m sucking you down and burying you two hundred meters down. With that sand pressure on every inch of your body you won’t be able to move a finger.’ Gaara explains. Then the boy disappears in the sand.

‘You did it, this time you really did it.’ Lee watches, still on the ground.

Then Kimimaro starts speaking from underneath the sand. ‘Bracken dance!’ And a flurry of bones appears from within the sand. Lee manages to dodge it just in time.

‘That’s one powerful move!’ Kiba yells out.

‘Not one I would like to be caught in, that’s for sure.’ His mother agrees with him for once. While their family always finds treasure in bones, this is not something they would want to encounter.

Then we move back to Orochimaru and Kabuto.

‘Shouldn’t he be here by now?’ Orochimaru asks the other boy. ‘I’m getting impatient.’

‘A watched kettle never boils.’

‘Kabuto do not patronize me.’

‘I’m sorry, it’s just that, you know. It doesn’t matter who stands in his way, there’s nobody who could overcome Kimimaro.’ Kabuto says.

‘Hah! You think.’ Naruto yells.

Then we move back to the battlefield.

‘You saved me. I never imagined you could do something like this.’ Lee says to Gaara as they are floating on small platforms of sand.

‘Now that looks like a move I want to try out.’ Shisui tells the group. Flying is everyone’s dream.

‘It does seem fun.’ Itachi has to agree with him.

‘No matter, I can fly in the future!’ Naruto yells. Sure flying like that looks cool, but nothing beats actual flying.

‘This is the same sand I’m always throwing around. It’s just in how you use it.’ Gaara explains. The ground under them is completely covered in bones. ‘He was one tough opponent but that should be the end of him. He’ll never get out of that.

‘I’m not brainwashed! He’s the only one who truly understands!’ Gaara and Lee turn around to see Kimimaro coming out of one of the bones, spear made from his hand. ‘You know nothing!’

‘Watch out!’

But the spear doesn’t hit them. Blood trickles down onto the ground.

Gaara’s eyes are open wide. ‘He’s dead.’ Blood is all over his chin. Then the scene ends.

‘That’s how it ends?’ What’s with the rushed endings all of a sudden.

‘Certainly interesting.’

‘I do agree that Kimimaro over there looked a lot like the flying lady from before.’ Shisui says. He doesn’t quite know what to put down about her.

‘I can see that.’

‘But she also has the Byakugan, which would imply a connection to the Hyuuga.’

‘This would be the time to explain.’ Hiashi says. ‘There are records in the clan that explain that, once upon a time, maybe seven centuries ago, that we were in fact the same clan.’

‘What happened?’ Itachi can’t help but ask. Things like that are interesting to him.

‘The bloodlines began splitting, eventually the clan’s ended up splitting because of some disagreements.’ By the confused faces he continues. ‘Mostly regarding temperament.’

‘From what I heard I can see why.’ Kakashi says. Once ticked off Kimimaro was quite… distraught.

‘She could be a shared ancestor then?’ Shisui puts that down on paper.

‘She could very well be.’ Iruka agrees.

‘That would be crazy.’ Sasuke says. ‘Imagine being descendent from a literal goddess.’ Yet somehow deep inside him there is something telling him it isn’t that strange.

‘And, luckily, not that weird one from Hidan.’

‘Thankfully.’

Notes:

Crossdressing boy -> mystery man

Madara (with rinnegan) & dead Hokage are alive
Hokage revived by Sasuke and Orochimaru and the gang.

Madara and Hashirama met as children (the idiots)
Madara can’t pee with someone behind him -> weakness

Red cloud organization Akatsuki
Members: - Deidara
- Sasori
- Itachi ???
- Kisame
- Hidan
- Kakuzu
Captured a random dude with red hair Gaara (Naruto cares about that guy)
Killed Yugito
Goal: possibly collecting bijuu -> might have to do with Juubi

Mizuki is evil

Kakashi’s real face is still a mystery :(
Kakashi is teacher of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura

Weird socially inept boy is part of Naruto’s team as well as Tenzo (he’s rude)

Sasuke might have a thing for Naruto and vice versa

Kakashi and Sasuke are missing at some point in the future (but still alive)
Sasuke runs away to Orochimaru

People to watch out for:

- Madara
- Sakura (don’t piss her off, don’t forget)
- Red cloud people
- Flying lady
- Gaara

Itachi killed of the entire Uchiha clan, except himself and Sasuke. (Where am I?)

Two brothers were fishing before chakra was a widespread thing.

Strong people are weak against naked people of the preferred gender. (Naruto takes advantage of that)

Sasuke has the mangekyo and rinnegan?
Naruto is glowing
Sakura has a thing on her forehead
Kakashi has two normal eyes
Strange half white dude?

Goddess flying with black creature thing in her arms (has byakugan, and a third eye on her forehead) (according to Kakashi a god)
Possible ancestor to the Hyuuga and Kaguya

The Kyuubi kind of likes Naruto

Ibiki is troll

Hinata and Naruto are so going to get married and have children. Don’t let Hiashi convince you otherwise.

Bijuu and Jinchuuriki
One Gaara
Two Yugito
Three Mizukage 4
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight b
Nine Naruto

Tsunade is the fifth hokage (the first doesn’t like that, because of gambling addictions)

The third died during something in which he sealed away Orochimaru’s arms and the first hokage. They all end up in the Shinigami belly

Kimimaro is a Kaguya and dangerous

Itachi’s attempt at a timeline

Ashura and his brother

Hashirama and Madara meet river

Kurama’s first sealing

Kurama’s second sealing

Kurama’s third sealing

Uchiha massacre

Naruto learns about the Kyuubi

Naruto and Sasuke kiss

Around the same time (no discerning timeframe available)
- Crossdressing boy
- Kakashi’s mask
- Kisame and I come to get Naruto
- Lee Gaara fight and the rest of the chunin exams
- Fight Kimimaro (after chunin exams)

Another set of around the same time
- Deidara and Sasori capture Gaara
- Orochimaru unlocks the reaper death seal
- Naruto promises Kurama to save him from his hate
- Emotionless boy insulting Naruto and Sakura
- Sakura and Naruto face off against Kakashi

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, and mystery man fight a flying lady

No time frames
- Hidan Kakuzu kill Yugito

‘What’s next?’ Naruto asks. He looks to the screen and watches it light up.

‘Falling rocks.’ It reads.

‘What could that be about?’ Sasuke wonders out loud.

‘I don’t know, only that I have some rather horrible memories regarding falling rocks.’ Kakashi says. It better not be about that.

Chapter Text

Kakashi is shown sitting on a tree branch. He’s alone and clutching his shoulder, like he’s in pain. A quick flashback starts.

Kakashi sighs. A part of him had been expecting this. Not that he was prepared.

‘Are you going to be alright, senpai?’ Itachi asks. He had picked up on the little signals the man was showing. Knowing his backstory he can make some conclusions of his own.

‘I’ll get through this.’ Kakashi puts his hand through his hair, slicking it back until it returns to its original shape.

A girl is shown, with two purple markings in her cheeks. ‘It’s healing but if you aren’t careful the wound will reopen.’ She tells him.

‘Rin…’ Kakashi looks at the screen in longing. It’s strange to see her alive again, after so long.

‘Was she important?’ One of the kids asks. Kakashi doesn't take time seeing who.

‘To me.’

Kakashi sighs before remembering more events that happened previously. A boy wearing orange goggles is shown, he’s yelling at Kakashi. ‘Every time we were wounded Rin saved our lives with her medical ninjutsu, without her we would’ve been dead long ago! Right now, our top priority is rescuing Rin, not our mission!’

‘Obito too.’ Kakashi knows what is about to happen. He would see the dead body of his best friend again. It’s not something he wants to see.

‘Yeah I remember him. Always gave me sweets on Saturdays.’ Itachi says.

His mother looks at him. ‘Oh really?’ Itachi smiles in fondness.

Then the fourth Hokage appears, he too is talking to Kakashi. ‘Rules and regulations are certainly important but they’re not everything. Remember how I told you at times you must adapt and take steps appropriate to the situation at hand.’

Kakashi thinks back to his father. Obito starts talking again. ‘I believe that the white fang was a true hero. In the ninja world those who abandon the mission are trash, but those that abandon their comrades are worse than trash!’ Kakashi sighs but does nothing.

‘That’s where it came from…’ Shisui mutters. He should’ve expected this. Kakashi is always preaching about teamwork.

Kakashi nods. ‘A motto I’ve decided to live by.’

Then in the current time Obito is shown landing near a cave. I found them! He slaps his face a couple times. Gotta calm down, I can do this.

‘What happened?’ Naruto asks. He can sense the unease in the room. But he would still like some context.

‘Rin got kidnapped. Obito went out to rescue her.’ Kakashi explains. Considering the circumstances he’s fairing a lot better than he thought.

Meanwhile inside the cave, two enemy ninjas take note of his arrival. The one with straight hair says. ‘I’ll take care of him.’ He makes a sign. ‘Just continue your genjutsu and get her talking.’ Before turning himself invisible and making his way to Obito.

Obito is watching the cave from his branch, he doesn’t notice the enemy appearing behind him. ‘Let’s go.’ He gets ready to jump before someone interrupts him.

‘Where are you going?’ the enemy asks. Obito turns around as quickly as he can, blood appears in his vision. Kakashi just jumped down to slash to enemy down.

‘Kakashi is kind of a badass.’ Sasuke says. He can see that Kakashi is strong. One day he hopes he can be strong too.

‘It was just good timing.’ Kakashi sighs. ‘Which I didn’t have for the rest of it.’

‘Kakashi? Why?’ Obito is stunned. He hadn’t counted on the other coming to help him.

‘Look! I can’t leave this up to a crybaby ninja like you, can I?’ Kakashi says to his teammate. Obito is shocked.

‘Aww.’ Ino squeals. They would’ve made another amazing pair, too bad one of them is dead.

‘Shut it.’ Shikamaru snaps at the girl. He knows what she’s doing and he can’t say he approves. It’s just strange.

The enemy stands up from the other branch. ‘The silver hair, the white light blade, could it be… the white fang of Konoha?’

Kakashi shifts his position, blade in hand. ‘This is a memento of my father.’

Obito remember the previous Kakashi, that always shut him down. ‘A shinobi needs tools suitable to the mission at hand, emotion is just a useless burden.’ Kakashi would say.

‘That’s kind of mean.’ Hinata mutters. She wouldn’t want to be like that. It would seem so cruel.

‘That’s just how I was. I’m not the proudest of that time in my life.’ Or any at all. To Kakashi his life has been one mistake after another.

‘Ah, I see. Just the white fang’s brat, eh? Then there is nothing to be worried about.’ The man makes a sign once more. ‘The art of camouflage!’ and he disappears from sight again.

Kakashi sniffs, taking in all the smells. ‘Just as I thought. Even his smell is gone. We’d have to locate him by the slightest hint of sound.’ Kakashi tells his teammate.

‘Is that why you wear the mask?’ Kiba asks.

Naruto blinks. ‘What do you mean?’ The others in the room had to do another take as well.

‘I can smell really well too, but sometimes things are too strong.’ Kiba explains while waving his hand in front of his nose.

‘You are a smart kid.’ Kakashi shoots him an eye smile.

Obito’s eyes dart around. ‘Where?’

Then there is a rustle just behind them. ‘Obito behind you!’ Kakashi yells. He jumps in between the enemy and Obito. His left eye gets slashed, and he falls to the ground in pain. ‘My eye!’

‘What a coincidence.’ Fugaku mutters. But Kakashi hears him all the same.

‘I’ve already told you, Obito gifted the eye to me.’

‘We’ll see.’

‘Kakashi!’ Obito yells out and he rushes to Kakashi’s side. ‘You okay?’

‘Yeah. He’s pretty good. He made sure to throw away the kunai knife he stained with my blood.’ Kakashi tells him as he reaches out with his hand to his eye.

Obito is crying. ‘Got some of that dust in your eyes again?’ Kakashi mocks him. ‘A ninja shouldn’t cry. I’m not dead yet.’

‘In the end he’s the only one alive.’ Hiashi looks down. He knows what it’s like to lose the most important person in your life.

‘What?’

‘You’ll understand later.’

Obito pushes up his goggles and wipes his eyes. He remembers what his teacher told him. ‘Dust can’t get in your eyes when you’re wearing goggles. It’s fine to speak of self-control, but you must be strong at heart, not just in words.’

He uses his sleeves to wipe away the tears. I’m all talk, always a burden… just a big-mouthed washout, but still…

‘I can kind of understand how he’s feeling.’ Naruto mumbles. He thinks like that all the time. But now he knows he’s going to be Hokage, so it’s fine.

‘Keep your guard up!’ Kakashi yells at him.

The enemy smirks, even though he isn’t visible. They’re only children. I must plan carefully…

Obito’s arm in still in front of his eyes. He remembers the words he told Kakashi. Those words I said. I’m not going to let them down! He turns around slowly but steadily. ‘Die!’ he yells out.

‘Ooh!’ Sasuke cheers. This is getting exciting.

He holds in kunai in front of him, sharingan spinning. Then slowly the enemy starts appearing again.

‘That was the moment it happened.’ Itachi watches. He’s always had some admiration for the boy. But that might have just been the treats.

‘Good for him.’ Tsume says.

‘Obito, you…’ Kakashi tries to stand up.

‘How can you possibly see me?’ The enemy is shaking, that poke hit hard. Then he looks at Obito’s face. ‘Your eyes?!’

‘Yes, the fancy smancy handy dandy magic eyes. They suddenly make you a different person!’ Naruto complains. The group looks at him.

‘What?

‘This time I’m protecting my comrade!’ Obito tells them firmly. The enemy falls down onto the branch they’re standing on.

It takes a moment for Kakashi to respond. But when he does the shock is evident in his voice. ‘Obito… your eyes.’

‘Sharingan, I can see chakra.’ Obito looks at his hands is wonder.

‘Sounds really confusing.’ Chouji takes another bite out of the snack in his hands.

‘Sometimes it can actually be confusing.’ Shisui explains.

‘Especially if you have one normal eye as well. The double vision…’ Kakashi puts his head in his hands. He’s had plenty of headaches as a result.

Then all of a sudden Kakashi hunches over in pain.

‘Kakashi!’ Obito calls out.

‘My eye is gone, Obito. But never mind that, I can use this kit Rin gave me to fix myself up. We have to save her!’ Kakashi says as he holds the med kit up. Obito nods in agreement.

‘Again. What a coincidence.’ Fugaku says. The group glares at him.

‘Shut it.’

Then the scene shifts to back inside the cave. Rin is sitting motionlessly against the wall. The remaining enemy nin looks at her. ‘You’re certainly stubborn. Aren’t you?’ Two people appear behind the man, he turns around.

It’s Obito and Kakashi.

‘They’re all so pathetic.’ The enemy says as he stands up.

‘To be quite fair, we were like twelve, not that intimidating.’ Watching it now, it was way cooler actually being there.

Obito uses his sharingan to look at Rin. There is something wrong with it. ‘Her chakra is disturbed. It’s flowing in patterns different from ours.’

‘She’s under the influence of genjutsu. They tried to force her to talk.’ Kakashi explains.

‘Looks like it didn’t work.’ Chouza observes. He too is taking a bite out of a snack in his hands.

‘Rin was great like that.’

The enemy scoffs. ‘Some kids.’

‘We fought earlier, he’s quick. Gotta be careful.’ Kakashi says to Obito.

‘Gotcha!’

Then the opponents rush at each other and starts exchanging hits. Kakashi and Obito quickly gain the upper hand using their combined teamwork and they put the enemy down on the ground.

‘That went by quick.’ Lee says. The other battles all took a lot longer.

‘It’s not the end.’ Kakashi tells them.

They rush to Rin’s side and release the genjutsu. Rin blinks a couple times.

‘Kakashi? Obito?’

‘We’ve come to rescue you, Rin! You’re safe.’ Obito tells the girl.

There is a sound coming from Kakashi. Itachi turns to look a the man. ‘Senpai?’

‘It’s just… I don’t want… this is a little difficult for me.’ Kakashi manages to stammer out. His hand is in front of his face and his eye isn’t focussing on the screen correctly.

‘I think more than a little.’ Iruka looks at the man. He’s never seen him so distraught.

‘Come here! I can give you a hug!’ Naruto tells him. He holds out his arms. Kakashi looks at the boy and slowly starts making his way over.

‘Thank you, Naruto.’ And he goes to sit in Naruto’s arms. It’s a sight, Naruto’s small arms around Kakashi’s body but it’s obvious the man takes some comfort from it.

‘Let’s get outta here!’ Kakashi tells the group. They’re about to leave but the enemy nin got up.

‘That was a pretty good combo but you’re still kids in the end. Remember you’re standing in the realm of the enemy now.’ He puts his hand on the ground. ‘Earth style: rock breaker!’

‘This is not good.’ Shino watches the screen with interest.

The ceiling starts falling down. Rock by rock fall down from the ceiling.

‘This is bad!’ Obito yells.

‘Guys make for the exit!’ Kakashi yells at them and as soon as it was said they start rushing out. Trying to avoid the falling rocks as they are running out.

But Kakashi gets hit by a smaller rock and falls to the ground.

‘No!’ Sasuke yells out, and he’s not the only one. There are several other kids that are just as saddened.

‘Kakashi!’ Rin calls out. Obito is rushing to the boy’s side and as soon as he looks up he notices a rock falling down at them. He grabs Kakashi and throws him to the side.

Then the rest of the ceiling falls down.

‘Is he dead?’ Sakura asks.

‘Not yet.’ Kakashi looks up from the embrace.

The enemy shrugs. ‘I lost a good source of information. Oh well, no helping that.’

‘Asshole.’ Naruto snarls.

‘It was war. He was just doing his job.’ Kakashi tells the boy.

Naruto takes in the information for a second. Then he nods. ‘He’s still an ass.’

Kakashi wakes up and as soon as he does his eyes go wide. What he sees in front of him he would never forget.

‘Rin, Kakashi, are you… okay?’ a strained voice calls out to them. It’s Obito. He’s completely trapped by a giant rock on top of him.

‘That looks painful.’ Tenten says.

‘More than painful.’ Kiba mutters. ‘Damn.’ He’s sure it’s gotta hurt like a bitch.

Kakashi rushes over desperate to the get the rock off the boy. But he’s not strong enough.

‘Kakashi. It’s okay. I… don’t think I can make it.’ Obito stammers out. ‘My right side is pretty much gone… I don’t… I don’t even feel anything.’

‘That’s good? Somehow?’ Shisui had always wondered if the boy’s death was painful. He heard that he was crushed by a rock, so he hoped the death had been instantaneous.

Kakashi collects his breath, he looks down, almost guilty.

Rin has tears in her eyes. ‘No… not like this… why?’ she kneels down at his side. Obito coughs up some blood. Rin does her best to help him.

‘He’s not going to make it.’ Neji says. He watches the screen. Of course such a no good ninja would die. It’s how fate dictated.

‘This can’t be!’ Kakashi slams his fist on the ground in frustration. ‘If only I’d come, if only I’d come with you from the start, like you told me to… this never would’ve happened!’ Kakashi is shaking. This is not what he wanted to happen.

The current Kakashi is also shaking. Naruto pets his back with his small hands. ‘It’s not your fault. You did your best.’ Kakashi just nuzzles deeper in the embrace.

Obito stares up not saying anything.

‘So, what I’m a cell leader, so what I made jonin.’ Kakashi’s fists are shaking, his voice cracking.

‘There, there.’ Naruto continues the soothing motions on the man’s back.

Obito starts talking again. ‘Kakashi. I’d completely forgotten,’ Rin and Kakashi look at the boy struggling to get out words, ‘I was the only one who didn’t give you a gift.’ Kakashi’s eyes widen. ‘I didn’t know what was proper, but… I do now. You see it won’t be useless.’ Kakashi is shocked, he doesn’t know what to say.

‘This is it, isn’t it?’ Itachi says. Referring to the sharingan Obito gifted to Kakashi.

‘Yes, it is.’

‘I’m giving you my sharingan,’ the screen shows a close up of the two boys, each the normal half of their face. ‘Whatever the village may say, you are a great jonin. I want you to know that, please accept.’

‘Like I said. He gifted them to me.’ Kakashi glares once more at Fugaku.

The man just shrugs. ‘As it seems.’

Rin brushes away her tears.

‘Rin use your medical ninjutsu and have my sharingan of the whole left eye transplanted to Kakashi.’ Obito tells them.

‘There? In the wild?’ Sakura is surprised. She knows surgeries should be done in a clean environment, which that certainly wasn’t.

‘Not the best place for surgery.’ Mikoto agrees.

Rin composes herself, ready to perform the procedure. ‘Kakashi come here. I’ll do it now!’

Kakashi takes one more time to look at Obito. ‘I’m about to die,’ Obito tells him, ‘But I’ll become your eye and we’ll see what happens in the future.’ Kakashi closes his remaining eye. And then the scene shifts again.

‘That’s kind of sweet if you think about it.’ Lee says. It proves the strong bond between the two people.

We’re back with the enemy nin. The rocks behind him shift. He looks up at Kakashi that came out of the rubble.

‘You still around? Just die already.’ He tells the boy. Kakashi is crying from his left eye. ‘You are just a kid, shinobi don’t cry, you know. Bring it on crybaby, I’ll finish you off here and now!’

‘Big talk for such an asshole.’ Naruto snarls at the man once more. Kakashi gives Naruto a squeeze.

Then Kakashi opens his eyes and the mismatched eyes stare him down. The enemy narrows his eyes. He’s different from before.

‘Whoa, he can see!’ Shisui exclaims. Maybe a bit too loudly.

‘Shut it.’

‘Kakashi,’ Obito calls out one last time, ‘Look after Rin for me.’

‘And I couldn’t even do that…’ Kakashi starts sniffling now. Naruto’s embrace does something to him that makes the feelings get loose.

‘No complaining. I’m giving you a hug.’

‘Don’t worry.’ And then Kakashi attacks the enemy with full force, so hard that his blade shatters. Next, he uses his new lightning attack to hit the guy in the chest.

‘Strong much.’

Still from beneath the rubble Rin watches as Kakashi is fighting. The enemy looks down in the hole and Rin is shocked, ready for attack.

‘Don’t panic Rin.’ Obito tells the girl.

She looks at the enemy again as he falls forward, revealing that Kakashi was behind him all this time. The enemy is slain.

‘I have to admit, that was kind of cool.’ Sasuke says. He loves watching cool fights. One day he would get into an awesome fight as well.

Kakashi looks down at his wounded friend. ‘Kakashi, take Rin and go! Leave here, reinforcements coming.’ Obito tells them. Both his teammates look at him. ‘It’s okay! Just go!’ he yells at them.

‘And that’s the last time I saw him.’ Kakashi tells them. No one responds, as it is the kind thing to do.

Kakashi holds out his hand for the girl to take. And that is where the scene ends.

‘That didn’t reveal anything new.’

‘It did not.’

‘I wonder why it was shown to us then. It’s not like we’ll see Obito again.’

‘Who knows. We can’t draw any conclusions for now.’

‘What’s next?’

Everyone looks at the screen expectantly and the title shown is: ‘Killing the immortal.’

‘Immortal? Does that mean we’re going to see Hidan and Kakuzu again?’

‘We might.’

Itachi’s attempt at a timeline

Ashura and his brother

Hashirama and Madara meet river

Kurama’s first sealing

Kurama’s second sealing

Obito dies

Kurama’s third sealing

Uchiha massacre

Naruto learns about the Kyuubi

Naruto and Sasuke kiss

Around the same time (no discerning timeframe available)
- Crossdressing boy
- Kakashi’s mask
- Kisame and I come to get Naruto
- Lee Gaara fight and the rest of the chunin exams
- Fight Kimimaro (after chunin exams)

Another set of around the same time
- Deidara and Sasori capture Gaara
- Orochimaru unlocks the reaper death seal
- Naruto promises Kurama to save him from his hate
- Emotionless boy insulting Naruto and Sakura
- Sakura and Naruto face off against Kakashi

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, and mystery man fight a flying lady

No time frames
- Hidan Kakuzu kill Yugito

Chapter Text

The scene starts with a view of Kakuzu and Hidan walking through a desolate forest. A shadow starts creeping up on them which they seemingly don’t notice. But then a close up of Kakuzu is shown.

‘Hey, it is the two immortals.’ Naruto stands up, pointing his finger at the screen. Sasuke looks at Naruto through the corners of his eyes.

‘I thought we already established that?’ He says. Naruto grumbles but sits down again, mumbling something about Sasuke being annoying.

Chouji takes a handful of food in his mouth before speaking. ‘Hey, Shika, isn’t that your jutsu.’

Shikamaru opens his eyes. ‘My family’s. But yeah it is.’

‘Maybe we’ll get to see Shika fight then!’ Ino cheers. She would love to see more people fight, there was too much Naruto already.

‘Hidan.’ He tells the other.

‘Yeah.’ And they jump out of the way to avoid getting caught in the technique. But as soon as they landed a paper bomb is launched at them and hits them straight on.

‘That’s fast.’ The kids watch the screen with amazement. The adult snicker, of course they would thing something as simple as that would be awesome.

The resulting explosion covers their bodies in smoke and dust, the ground shaking beneath them. The remnants of chains fall onto the ground. Hidan’s scythe is being separated from him.

‘Kakuzu!’ Hidan yells as the dust starts to dissipate.

‘I hardened my arm. I’m not injured.’ Kakuzu too appears from the dust. ‘Forget that, watch out for the shadow.’ He tells his partner.

‘Hardening? Might be something worth noting down.’ Iruka says to Shisui.

Shisui raises his pen in the air. ‘I’m already on it.’

The shadow starts creeping up to them once again.

‘I won’t fall for it twice!’ Hidan yells.

‘Hidan look up.’ And as the man does so he sees Shikamaru above them in the air. Ready to launch more weapons at them. And that he does. Two other weapons with paper tags attached to them are thrown at them.

‘What are they going to do now?’ Naruto looks to his friends for the answer. None of them seem to have it however, so he slumps down again.

‘Who knows. Let’s just keep watching.’ Sasuke has his eyes on the screen. This could be an actual real fight. With adults that know what they are doing.

‘It’s another paper bomb!’ Kakuzu embraces himself for the impacts. ‘Hidan dodge it!’ And as they dodge the weapons there is a distinct lack of explosions. Instead nothing happens at all.

‘Did something go wrong?’ Sakura blinks but she keeps her eyes on the screen to make sure she doesn’t miss anything.

‘I doubt it.’ Shikamaru responds. He doesn’t know what his future self is thinking—if it even was his future self—but he’s sure he could make a plan that would involve traps like that.

‘What do you mean?’ Sakura turns her head to the boy, awaiting an answer.

‘I have the feeling that it’s a trap.’

Both Hidan and Kakuzu wait for another second or two before they come out of their defensive positions.

It didn’t explode? This is not what Hidan expected at all. Then his eyes widen. And Kakuzu too looks strained. They got caught in the shadows.

‘Yes, they got caught.’ Sasuke cheers. He’s not the only one that feels the excitement.

‘They got us.’ Kakuzu looks up at the perpetrator. Shikamaru looks very badass as he stares them down.

‘Is that Shikamaru?’ Hinata blinks. They look alike, so it wouldn’t be that strange. But it’s still a bit weird to see him so much older.

Shino looks between the younger boy and his future counterpart on the screen. ‘I think it is.’

‘He grew up well.’ Shikaku is proud of his son. He’s able to grow up into a fine young man.

‘He looks kind of angry.’ Chouji mutters as he takes another bite from the cake he’s eating. He can only wonder what made the boy so angry. He knows Shikamaru and he know he doesn’t get angry without a very good reason.

Shikamaru hops down onto the ground and smirks at the two criminals. ‘Shadow possession shuriken jutsu, success.’

‘Look at him being smug.’ Ino laughs. There are a couple others that join in with her joy as well.

I can’t move. Hidan looks at Shikamaru. ‘I dodged the shadow, so how did you…’

‘The thing I threw is a chakra blade. It’s made from metal that can conduct chakra.’

‘Kakuzu, what is he saying?’

‘He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, is he?’ Shisui laughs. It would work to their advantage if they could outsmart the guy.

‘It seems so.’ Itachi agrees. He still can’t wrap his head around the fact that they are his future colleagues. That these are the kinds of people he hangs out with. It’s strange to even think about.

‘Idiot! Shut up, Hidan.’ Kakuzu is having none of Hidan’s stupidity today.

‘The chakra blade becomes an extension of myself, exhibiting the shadow possession jutsu.’ Shikamaru appears on the screen. ‘That chakra blade is a memento of Asuma, the man you killed.’ Hidan acts surprised at Shikamaru’s words.

‘Asuma…’ Hiruzen looks down and takes a deep breath. This was something he would never want to hear. It’s sadly a common thing within a ninja village but that doesn’t make it any easier.

Naruto notices him being a bit down. ‘Jiji?’ He tilts his head.

‘Let me take that in for a second.’ The group lets him. They could understand that it’s not something that would pass within a second. ‘It’s one thing to know you died, another to find out your son died.’

‘We’ll make sure that won’t happen.’ Naruto encourages. Determination in his eyes. They got the opportunity to fix the future and they would take it. No matter what. None of his friends would have to suffer. He’ll make sure of that.

‘Shika seems to care about him too.’ Ino agrees.

’35 million ryo, huh?’ Kakuzu says.

‘That’s what jumps in his mind?’ Iruka has to take a second to process that. He knows there are people that like to hunt bounties, but to know them by heart… that’s certainly odd.

‘He’s bound to be a little screwed in the head after living so long.’ Kakashi says. Several people turn to look at him. As if he isn’t crazy.

‘Well, let’s finish this.’ Shikamaru says.

‘Hey! Why the hell have you been so quiet?!’ Hidan shouts at his partner. ‘What are you doing getting caught too? Aren’t we now screwed?’

‘Why does he ask that?’ Naruto tilts his head to the side and blinks a couple times.

‘He’s an idiot.’ Sasuke nods. Naruto might be the only other person he knows that might ask such a question as well. And Naruto is an idiot as well.

‘Screwed? According to my plan, it was finished from the moment I caught you!’ Shikamaru makes a sign and let’s his shadow extent again.

‘What plan?’ Kiba looks at his classmates for the answer but they don’t have one.

‘One we likely made before the fight.’ Shikamaru decides to explain. It’s the only other possibility.

Then Kakashi appears from behind one of the trees. Sharingan on. You did a good job…

‘There is Kakashi again!’ Sasuke cheers. For some reason that man is always there. How does he do it? Is he that important or something.

‘Certainly, looking a lot better than in the previous scene.’ Fugaku decides to mention. They all grimace as they remember the previous scene. It got them down quite a bit.

Hidan is caught in the shadow from Shikamaru himself. ‘You bastard.’ A small string of shadow pulls out the chakra knife. ‘Damn it! What are you doing?’

‘Heh, there’s no way I’m going to miss the second time.’ Shikamaru smiles. ‘I’m going to corner you guys. And I’m not going to mess up the order this time.’ Shikamaru slowly moves his leg backwards. And as per jutsu Hidan does the same. Then comes another step back, and another, all the way until Hidan is standing next to his scythe.

‘What does he mean by order?’ Chouji takes another bite of the cake in his hands. He doesn’t look at anyone, but he expects an answer nonetheless.

‘Maybe it’s not his first encounter with these people.’ Itachi explains.

‘He survived them?’ Shisui’s eyes are wide. One would think surviving immortals to be near impossible. To think he managed. Maybe he just ran away.

Shikamaru uses his hands to wrap Hidan’s hand around his scythe and lifts the weapon up. ‘I know your face now!’ Hidan yells, still caught in the technique. No matter what happens to me, I’m gonna kill you!’

‘Well the fragment was called killed the god of death or something. I have a feeling that’s not referring to Shikamaru.’ Sasuke laughs. The rest of the room sighs in relief. That means at least he would survive. At least that’s what they hope.

‘It would be a cool nickname.’ Ino says. She would want her nickname to be at least half as cool as that.

‘I would rather have my nickname not be something like that.’ Shikamaru sighs at his friends’ antics.

Shikamaru slings the scythe around and starts running toward Kakuzu. ‘You’re stupid, aren’t you?’ Shikamaru jumps up and Hidan does the same, swinging his scythe.

‘Kakuzu, dodge it!’ In response Kakuzu grunts.

‘This is funny.’ Naruto laughs. To think someone as strong as them would do something as funny as that. It boosts his self-esteem quite a bit.

‘I do not think this is the end though.’

In no time at all Kakuzu leans down and using the arm he detached from his body he’s able to pull out the knife that prevents him from moving, allowing him to dodge the attack.

‘Note that down!’ Iruka screams at Shisui, who jolts upright after hearing the loudness of Iruka’s voice. That certainly was a lot louder than he expected.

‘I’m writing as fast as I can.’

‘All right!’ Hidan yells. The onlookers, Kakashi, Chouji, and Ino what in surprise. This is not going according to plan.

I didn’t expect his arm to move on its own after being separated from his body. But when did this happen? Then Shikamaru widens his eyes. It was when the explosion hit, he puts his arm on the ground. Just what I expected of the Akatsuki. They all use insane abilities!

‘That man just basically exudes experience.’ Hiashi grunts. He can acknowledge that he would be a powerful opponent. He can understand why not everyone is on the battlefield. He knows power when he sees it.

‘Not someone you would like to cross.’ Tsume agrees.

The arm Kakuzu detached is now attaching itself again, beating like a heart. ‘You said we were finished, but my powers are still unknown to you. So, you kept your distance when you made your next move. You’re intelligent, unlike my partner.’ The arm is fully attached again. ‘But even if you analyze the fight, it doesn’t mean everything will go as planned.’

Shikamaru holds back a curse.

‘Was that arm just beating like a heart?’ Itachi has his eyes glued to the screen. This isn’t something he ever heard of before. It might be something interesting to look into. But where would he find books on the matter? He could possibly reverse engineer the jutsu? If he has the time.

‘It might have to do with his abilities.’ Jiraiya is just as intrigued as Itachi is. Throughout the years he heard of Kakuzu before. But he has never had the opportunity to meet the man. Not that he wanted to. He does have quite the bounty as well.

‘Better keep an eye out on the details.’ Kakashi agrees.

Hidan laughs before the words of his partner sink in. ‘Kakuzu! What do you mean ‘unlike my partner?’’

‘Just as I said you idiot.’

‘They argue like children.’ Mikoto sighs. She was hoping these kids could see how real ninja are in the battlefield. But it seems her hopes aren’t quite up to the standard.

‘Or a married couple.’ Tsume laughs. Nearly every adult turns to look at her.

Ino also decides this is her time to interrupt. ‘They would so be into s&m play.’

‘INO!’ Inoichi is shocked. How does his daughter know of these things? This is embarrassing.

His friends just laugh at his misery.

Then Hidan starts moving toward Kakuzu again. Shikamaru still controlling the movements. Slinging the scythe around, forcing Kakuzu to dodge backwards.

‘Kakuzu do something!’ Hidan yells at his partner.

‘Does it look like he’s able to?’

‘This is hilarious.’ The kids are laughing out loud. The adults as well have some smiles on their faces. No one passes up a good joke.

‘I can’t believe you’re forcing me back.’ Kakuzu keeps jumping backwards until his back hits one of the large trees. ‘Shoot!’

Shikamaru is still continuing the assault. Now, Chouji!

‘Chouji is going to be badass too?’ Naruto looks at the boy in question. He still has the cake in his hands. He doesn’t eat as quickly as usually, probably because his friend is involved in the battle.

‘No fair!’ Ino screams. She wants to be awesome too!

Chouji jumps from the top of the tree down, making some signs and transforming his hair into spikes. Then he starts spinning. ‘Spiky human boulder!’

‘Kakuzu!’ Hidan yells while the rest of the people are watching.

‘He’s seems awfully concerned.’ Shikaku notes.

As the dust of the attack settles, Chouji jumps out of it. ‘What the hell is going on?’ He asks Shikamaru who’s standing right next to him.

Then Kakuzu walks his way out of the dust cloud, his skin is grayer than it was before.

‘That must be his hardening ability.’ Kakashi says. He too has his eyes on the screen. This is a battle he seems to be involved with.

‘Looks funky.’

‘Just as Raido-senpai said. He might have some technique for hardening his body.’ Shikamaru narrows his eyes, remembering the fight he had with them previously.

‘That’s right. No physical attack will work on me.’ Kakuzu stands, waiting for the next attack.

‘Raido was also involved?’ Shisui blinks. ‘Why isn’t he there then?’

‘He could be in the hospital.’ Itachi tries to explain.

‘Wouldn’t surprise me.’

I’d projected their powers to a certain degree, but this… If we can’t use direct attacks, what should we do? Sweat rolls down his face. Shikamaru still has Hidan under his control.

Then Hidan starts laughing. ‘Be afraid, you atheist jerks! All right! It’s about time for us to counterattack.’ Hidan yells at his teammate. ‘Kakuzu break this jutsu already!’

‘He’s still too confident for someone caught in a trap.’ Shikaku says again. He doesn’t like the battle. Not that he doesn’t believe in his son, but as a parent he can’t help but worry.

‘We already saw that he’s immortal. He probably doesn’t have any concerns then.’ Chouza tries to explain. He too has a slice of cake in his hands.

‘The pain must still hurt though.’

‘Sure.’ Kakuzu says right before he gets hit with something as well, as his shocked expression tells them. Hidan too his shocked, his fear is quite visible on his face.

Kakashi is standing right behind Kakuzu with his Chidori through the man’s chest.

‘Yes!’ Naruto jumps up with his fist in the air.

‘Kakashi is being awesome again!’ Sasuke too is excited. His eyes are sparkling. This is the technique he got to learn? It looks so powerful!

‘How come he’s always the badassest of them all?’ Shisui slumps down. He would love to see himself be awesome at some point.

‘He’s just awesome.’ Naruto responds right back. He has truly accepted Kakashi as his brother figure.

‘There you have it.’ Kakashi shoots everyone his eye smile. The adults just roll their eyes.

‘That can’t be. You snuck up behind me, without me sensing you.’

‘Too bad.’ Kakashi says as his keeps his hand in place. The electricity radiating of them.

‘What? What’s up with that?’ Hidan asks, clearly not as bothered as he should have been. ‘I thought physical attacks weren’t supposed to work on you!’

‘Yet now he doesn’t seem that concerned.’ Shikaku says. Why though? There are so many things that just don’t quite line up yet. He’s missing one part of the puzzle and he would love to get his hands on it.

‘That certainly is something interesting.’ Inoichi agrees with him.

‘Something we need to keep our eye on.’

‘Yeah! How did you get behind him, Kakashi-sensei?’ Shikamaru asks.

‘I saw everything. I saw the jutsu you use for hardening your body. Judging form how you formed your seal earlier, I’d say you’ve got an earth chakra nature.’ Kakashi explains.

‘In that instant… you read the speed of my seal?’ Kakuzu is still breathing. ‘And using lightning style at this level. I see! You’re the sharingan Kakashi.’

‘Fancy. Is he going to put up his bounty as well?’ Kiba laughs. Akamaru yips from the top of his head.

‘Who knows.’

‘Earth is weak against lightning. We’re not a good match. You’re finished.’ Kakashi says like a badass.

‘Kakashi-sensei really is amazing.’ Chouji mutters.

‘Watch and learn.’ Kakashi says. Still with that smug smile on his face.

‘Yeah. We needed to take care of the mortal one first. I’d be trouble after all.’ Then Shikamaru falls forward.

‘They don’t know Kakuzu is immortal as well.’ Sakura points out. The other grimace. That could work to the advantage of the enemy.

‘There might be a trick to it.’ Itachi knows there is always some sort of trick to it.

‘You okay, Shikamaru?’ Chouji asks his friend.

‘This isn’t looking good. Kakashi-sensei!’ He yells.

Kakashi looks up. His shadow possession is at its limit. He pulls his hand out of Kakuzu and the man falls onto the ground, seemingly dead.

‘He lasted too long.’ Fugaku says.

Naruto turns to look at the man. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Between getting hit and falling over, there is too much time. He should have been dead as soon as it hit. If not seconds later.’ Fugaku has killed plenty of people before, he knows a direct blow to the heart should be instant, the enemy shouldn’t be able to respond for that long.

‘When you put it like that.’

‘He nailed your heart in one shot?’ Hidan doesn’t look all that impressed. Like his partner hadn’t just been killed. ‘How can you get hammered right off the bat like that? For crying out loud.’

‘You’re next.’ Kakashi makes another Chidori in his hand. Hidan tries to run away but he’s still caught in the jutsu of Shikamaru. Kakashi starts running toward the man. Before he’s promptly hit in the chest by Kakuzu.

‘He’s not dead.’ Sakura gasps. They had already established they would be difficult to kill but to think someone can just survive that and stand up again.

‘How did he survive then?’ Kiba asks. Akamaru yips in agreement.

‘Is he like his partner, or different. He doesn’t seem religious.’ Itachi too is going over the possibilities. But so far, he’s coming up blank. He’s never heard of anything like it.

The other people look on in shock. Multiple trees fall over by the sheer force that Kakuzu managed to use.

‘And here you acted all cool and said, ‘You’re finished.’’ Hidan laughs.

‘It must be funny to you.’ Naruto grumbles, head on the desk. He doesn’t like it when things aren’t going well for them. He doesn’t want any of his precious people getting hurt.

Kakashi is now on the ground laying against one of the fallen trees. What’s going on? He slowly stands up. I’m sure I didn’t miss the vital spot.

‘All right let’s settle this right now.’ Hidan says.

‘That’s fine.’ Kakuzu takes of his cloak. And reveals his body. His body is littered with suture lines and four masks like his back. The top left one is destroyed. Then from through the seams on his body something starts to appear from it. Shikamaru’s jutsu is also at its end. Then from Kakuzu’s back a giant mass of black appears.

‘What is that?’ Hinata asks. Her eyes are wide and she’s shaking in her seat. There is something really scary about these people and she doesn’t like it.

‘Something dangerous, that’s for sure.’ Shino agrees with her. He too is a little disturbed, and he has insects living in his body.

‘Hey, Shikamaru, what’s going on?’ Chouji looks at his friend for the answer. ‘And why didn’t he die even when the Kakashi’s jutsu pierced him?’

‘Who knows? But with these guys, it would take a lot to surprise me now.’ Shikamaru guards himself. Hidan is now free.

‘I can finally move.’ Hidan stretches his limbs.

‘That’s not good.’ Sasuke doesn’t like where this is going. From what he’s seen he can conclude they’re trying their best to stay as far away from Hidan as possible. To prevent him hitting them.

‘I can see that. We still don’t know how his techniques work.’ Shikamaru agrees. He knows his future self has a plan, he always does, but that doesn’t make it any easier.

Kakashi positions himself better. What are those? He looks at Kakuzu as the four masks have each grown their own black body, their quite strange in figure. One of them is on all fours, while the other tower above him and the others.

‘They look weird.’ Naruto scrunches his nose. He wouldn’t want to encounter them.

Hidan laughs. ‘Lord Jashin! Watch me!’ He yells toward the heavens. ‘I’m going to get serious! I mean it! I’ll rip out their guts!’

‘Watch out Chouji!’ Shikamaru tells his friend. Chouji nods and prepares himself for the attack.

The creature with the broken mask starts groaning before seemingly melting and falling to the ground. Hidan looks down at the creature. The stitches on Kakuzu’s back start to put themselves back together.

‘Did one of them just die?’ Iruka blinks. That’s something worth noting at least. These creatures can die. Does that mean they’ll have to kill them all?

‘His mask was broken, maybe that has something to do with it.’ Jiraiya agrees with him. He’s not liking what he sees in the slightest.

‘Kakuzu! Hey! One of them died right after our verbal assault!’ Hidan yells at his partner. ‘You really stink!’

Meanwhile Kakashi watches the scene with his sharingan. Since one of the masks that came out of his body died… it must’ve been that mask I hit with my lightning blade earlier. Looks like we got something here.

‘Yes. That is the most likely conclusion.’ Past Kakashi agrees with his future counterpart.

‘Does that mean they have to destroy all the other ones as well?’ Itachi looks at his senpai with worry.

‘It does seem likely.’

Iruka gulps. ‘That’s going to be difficult for them.’

‘Hidan, stand down for a while. I’ll take care of this.’ Kakuzu simply states to his partner, who doesn’t quite like it.

‘Wait just a minute. We’ve been getting our butts kicked the whole time and it’s ticking me off. Let’s go with the usual.’ Kakuzu grunts and Hidan goes for the attack. Swinging his scythe at Kakashi, who blocks every attack with his kunai. Then one of the creatures flies up behind Hidan and uses a wind style attack at them both. Blowing both of them away. The wind rages over the battlefield even blowing away all other occupants of the area, it’s that powerful of an attack.

‘That’s one powerful attack.’ Mikoto watches in amazement. Few people would be able to launch an attack of that power. It really shows how strong that Kakuzu is compared to them.

‘Didn’t they just say he was earth natured?’ Shisui points out, looking at his notes.

‘We better get an explanation soon.’

Ino, who’s watching behind one of the trees, hides herself well enough to not be blown away. They must be taking advantage of his immortality.

‘Smart.’ Shikaku has to give them that. It’s a scary combination that would only work for these two people.

‘And very deadly.’ Inoichi agrees. After seeing his daughter, he can’t help but worry about her. Why isn’t he there to help them.

‘But I can’t imagine being cut up working out well for them.’ Jiraiya says. Wind attacks are known to cut people up.

‘Who knows how they do it?’

In the end nothing is left in the field, except Kakuzu who’s still standing there proudly. He uses one of the creatures to send a large beam of electricity at Shikamaru and Chouji. Shikamaru has a scroll in his hands. Ino realizes the danger they are in and rushes in to warn them. But they are saved just in time by Kakashi, who uses his own lightning control to stall the attack. It takes a lot of effort, and he’s straining himself. But in the end, he managed to subdue the attack.

‘And now he’s using lightning. At that power.’ Kakashi points out. He doesn’t like it. Someone that’s able to use so many elements at that power, he can’t have an affinity toward all of them. That’s simply not possible. There’s got to be some sort of trick to it.

‘Kakashi is being awesome again.’ Naruto says. Head now in his palms as he smiles at the screen. He’s seriously debating whether he should get himself some ramen to munch on while watching.

‘We seriously need to keep track of how many times he keeps doing that.’ Kiba agrees.

Kakashi stand himself. No one should be able to use an attack of that power unless it’s their chakra nature. And he uses earth, wind, and lightning. What the heck is going on?

‘That’s what we’d like to know.’ Shikaku says.

Hidan appears right next to Kakuzu, and he shoots a grin at Kakashi. ‘I’m surprised. You’re the first one we weren’t able to kill with this combination. Hatake Kakashi.’

‘Good information.’ Shisui puts his pen on the paper and starts writing again.

‘Also, scary.’ Ino shudders. She just hopes she can make it out alive of there.

‘So, you read it with your sharingan, huh?’ Kakuzu starts waving some signs. ‘However, … How about this next attack?’ One of the creatures starts moving, this is a different one than the ones used previously. He sends a giant fireball at the group. All of them are too shocked to do something. The fire rages over the fields.

‘It’s like he has an affinity for every single element.’ Shisui’s pen is still on the paper but it isn’t moving at the moment.

‘Maybe he does.’ Itachi narrows his eyes, recalling everything they’ve seen so far.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Maybe it has something to do with the masks.’ They all do look rather distinct, with the colors of the elements.

The group just barely manages to get out of the way of the fire. Hidan takes this as his opportunity to attack Kakashi. Kakashi starts blocking the attacks once again. And he manages to get away and the group regroups. Kakashi is getting exhausted.

‘Why didn’t he die when Kakashi-sensei hit him?’ Chouji asks.

Kakashi nods. ‘I’m sure I crushed his heart. He really should be dead. But what I killed was one of the monsters that came out of his body. We can assume that it died in place of his real body.’

‘Logical conclusion.’ Shikaku goes over all the things they’ve seen so far, but there is still something he’s missing. Maybe if he’ll go over everything again.

‘Not one I like.’ Inoichi agrees.

Chouza munches on another slice of cake. ‘I wonder how they’ll deal with this.’

‘It was the same when he broke my shadow possession shuriken jutsu. Something that looked like a heart was attached to the arm that had been separated from his body and it was moving on its own.’

‘What does that mean?’ Chouji asks.

‘Please tell me you’ve figured it out.’ Naruto has tears in his eyes as he’s begging Shikamaru for the answer.

‘That would certainly work to our advantage.’ Shikamaru might not have gotten the same conclusion as his future counterpart yet but he knows that his future self knows.

‘I have some theories.’ Itachi mutters. He doesn’t explain any further, even when people are begging him with their eyes.

‘If you include his real body, each monster that came out of his body has a heart, and they are all his. In other words, it means he probably has five hearts.’

‘What?’

‘It does explain a lot.’ Shikaku got the last piece of the puzzle. ‘If these hearts he uses are from people with affinities different from him, and he’s able to sync them with his system, then he should be able to use those affinities to his advantage.’

‘This man is getting scarier by the minute.’ Ino shudders. She has to fight someone like that? No chance in hell.

‘I hope I’ll never have to fight him.’ Naruto shakes. This Kakuzu guy is going to haunt his dreams. He’s sure of it.

‘He’s definitively one of the creepier ones out there.’ Shino agrees.

‘However, he lost one of them to Sensei’s lightning blade just now, though.’

‘Then that means we have to crush his other four hearts,’ Ino’s eyes widen as she realized what a task that will be, ‘in order to take him out completely?’

‘Yeah.’ Shikamaru nods.

‘Lets go see how they do it!’ Sasuke however is rather excited for the upcoming fight. He loves watching strong people fight. There is always something new to learn when watching. Maybe he can even use what he learns sometime.

Kakuzu nods as well. ‘You’re very perceptive. That’s exactly right. I took each of these hearts from shinobi I once fought. I can always replenish my stock with your hearts.’

‘Brr. I just felt something shiver.’ Naruto turns to look at Hinata who just said that. He mutters something about ghosts.

Kakashi’s eyes are narrowed. ‘I get it. By connecting his chakra network to the others’ hearths, he incorporates their chakra natures as well, huh? No wonder he’s able to use several different natures.’

Then Hidan decides to interrupt. ‘By the way, does the hidden leaf village bury their dead?’ The group looks at him in shock. ‘Burials are a pain in the neck, you see. I bet Kakuzu is going to say: ‘we’re going to dig up the body and exchange him for money.’ And here I thought I could have some fun with that bearded jerk. He was nothing special, after all.’

‘What’s he doing?’ Naruto asks. This suddenly took a strange angle.

‘He’s trying to rile them up.’ Shikamaru explains. His future self better not fall for it.

‘You’re one to talk, especially since you got your head chopped off.’ Kakuzu tells the man.

‘He can survive even that?’ Itachi’s eyes widen just a fraction.

‘No wonder he’s not scared of anything.’ Shisui agrees with him. How are they going to get rid of someone like that? Sealing them away like with a bijuu? There would be several problems with that.

‘Shut up. You keep quiet!’ Hidan yells right back. ‘I’m sure you guys are intent on revenge. But you guys are too weak for that.’ He puts his scythe on his shoulder. ‘You look like kids. I guess you were his students, huh? Well, with scum like him as your teacher, you won’t amount to much. What’s so great about an idiot like that?’ He looks right at Chouji. ‘Fatty.’

‘Don’t fall for it!’ Naruto yells at the screen. It doesn’t have any effect, obviously.

This maddens Chouji a lot! And with a red face he launches himself at Hidan. He enlarges his arms and goes for the punch. Hidan just smiles, already knowing this would happen. But just as he swings his scythe to hit Chouji, the boy stops. Shikamaru has Chouji in his possession and prevents him from getting hit.

‘Good thinking Shikamaru!’ Ino cheers.

Shikamaru scoffs. ‘It’s not that hard.’ He would have done that any day.

Hidan scoffs and decides to jump at Chouji, but Kakashi interferes with his trusty kunai. He kicks Kakashi, letting him fall to the ground and cheers as he’s attacking the man.

‘He’s really enjoying himself.’ Hinata looks at the screen. She doesn’t understand how someone can like attacking people. She at least doesn’t. Maybe that’s why she’s such a failure.

‘Such a weirdo.’ Naruto lays his head back down on the desk. He’s getting hungry and there is this cup ramen on the table of food. He doesn’t want to interrupt the watching though.

Shikamaru takes this time to reprimand Chouji on his actions. Chouji apologizes but just as he turns his head. Kakuzu as standing right in front of him. He hits the man but in return just gets beaten instead. Chouji falls against a tree and Kakuzu hits him again and sends him right through it.

‘Kakuzu is going to haunt my nightmares now.’ Kiba shudders so much Akamaru falls from his head. With a yip he lands on Kiba’s lap. Kiba apologizes and pets the dogs back.

‘You’re not the only one.’ Naruto shudders as well. That man must be a ghost or something. No one can just move spots like that.

Kakashi is still dealing with Hidan and now he also has one of the monsters to deal with. And then another and another. All the monsters seem to be attacking him. Hidan doesn’t take a break either.

‘Watch out Kakashi!’ Naruto screams out.

Kakashi laughs. ‘I’ll be fine.’ He reassures Naruto.

‘You sure?’ Naruto’s eyes shake with worry.

‘I got plot armor.’ Kakashi explains. Holding up his book as he does so.

‘What do you mean by that?’ Naruto is confused. Kakashi is awesome and all but he’s also really strange sometimes.

‘That goddess thing happens after this. I still got my sharingan here.’ He points to the screen to illustrate his point.

‘That eases my worries just a little.’ Naruto holds up his fingers and shows how little it changes. The adults just laugh.

Kakuzu grabs Chouji by the head and drags him right to him. He hardens his hand and goes for the heart. Ino intercepts him with some projectiles. While Shikamaru tries to trap him in his jutsu. He gets attacked by one of the monsters while Ino is grabbed by Kakuzu. Then Chouji is grabbed again as well.

‘No!’ Chouji stopped eating. He doesn’t want to die. This is getting really scary.

‘Shika save us!’ Ino gives the boy a shove. He nearly falls of his chair.

Shikamaru rebalances himself. ‘I have a feeling I’m going to try.’

Now each and every player on the field is occupied and it seems like the Leaf is losing. Kakuzu holds Ino and Chouji up above his head. ‘Die.’ He mutters.

Kakashi is still dodging the attacks of the creatures. Before using a jutsu. Not long after he’s hit by an attack.

‘No!’ Naruto screams out once again. He might not know the man that well but he’s already important to him. He hates seeing him get hurt.

‘This is not looking to good.’ Sasuke agrees with him. He—like Naruto—doesn’t know the man that well either. But he’s his sensei so he’s got to be important to him too.

‘Unless reinforcements arrive it’s not likely they’ll all make it out alive.’ Shikaku watches as his child and his friends’ children get hurt. Where are they during this whole conflict?

‘Please someone save us.’ Ino holds her hands in prayer.

Shikamaru too is dodging attacks from the monsters, but he notices something and runs in another direction.

Hidan walks right over to Kakashi who’s lying down on one of the branches. His slashes him with his scythe, excited by the kill. Before Kakashi vanishes in smoke.

‘Got you!’ Naruto starts laughing. Of course, Kakashi would be able to get out of it.

‘He must be so disappointed.’ Sasuke is laughing as well, mostly to relieve stress, though the moment was actually quite hilarious.

‘Eh?’ Hidan is stupefied. This is not what he expected. He sees the real Kakashi running of.

‘Hidan is a little funny.’ Ino has to admit.

‘For now. He did kill Asuma.’ Shikamaru points out. He might not have met the man yet, but he knows how much he means to his future self. It’s clear on his face.

Shikamaru meanwhile takes out a scroll, puts it on the ground near Kakuzu—who’s still holding Chouji and Ino—and unseals it. Water starts pouring out, covering Kakuzu’s feet. Next time the monster goes to attack, with lightning attacks Kakuzu is hit as well by the conduction of the water.

‘Smart.’ Itachi has to give him that. This Shikamaru certainly lives up to his family’s reputation of being a genius. IF only they weren’t so lazy.

‘Won’t Ino and Chouji get hurt as well.’ Sasuke asks his brother. He knows how lightning works, it’s always fascinated him.

Itachi nods. ‘It’s likely that they did feel it, but it doesn’t look to be too powerful of an attack.’

‘Thank goodness.’ Ino sighs in relief. She won’t die from it then.

Shikamaru sends an exploding tag to Kakuzu and Kakuzu lets go of Ino and Chouji. He builds up a wall of water to protect himself.

‘Oh boy.’ Hidan watches what’s happening from up in the trees.

‘He’s not even attacking anymore.’ Kiba watches the guy. He doesn’t understand how his mind works. If he was in his place he would’ve rushed forward already.

‘He’s really strange.’ Hinata has to agree with the dog boy.

The group regroups and get their bearings back together. As does the opposition.

‘What a pathetic man, what a disgrace.’ Hidan tells his partner.

‘You too. How did you not realize it was a clone?’

‘You saw that?’ Hidan rubs the back of his head.

‘At least he knows that was stupid.’ Fugaku sighs. Anyone could’ve seen that Kakashi made a clone.

Mikoto laughs at her husband. ‘It worked to our advantage.’ She puts her hand on his back.

‘That’s true.’

Kakashi turns toward Shikamaru. ‘How shall we fight?’

‘Let’s separate them. Our best plan would be to attack them separately.’ Kakashi nods in agreement. ‘After we eliminate their ability to do combo attacks, we’ll focus on destroying his four remaining hearts.’

‘Smart.’ Shikaku is proud of his son. He always knew he was smart but to take command over Kakashi, he must be a true genius.

‘How are they going to accomplish that.’ Chouza takes another bite of his cake. ‘Kakuzu seems smart enough to prevent that from happening.’

‘We’ll see.’

‘If we’re going to do that, we’ll need someone to stall Hidan.’ Kakashi says.

Ino stands up. ‘I’ll do it. I have the most chakra stored up right now. And I won’t be of much use in straight attacks.’

‘No. It won’t work that way. It’s too risky.’ Shikamaru turns to look at the opponents. ‘I’ll do it.’ The rest looks at him in shock. ‘We’ll separate them after I restrain him with my shadow possession jutsu.’

‘Shikamaru is going to do that? On his own?’ Sakura doesn’t want to believe it. There is no way Shikamaru could make it out of that alive.

‘Who knows.’ Ino shrugs. She doesn’t quite believe it either. But she has to. Shikamaru can’t die, not as long as she’s around.

‘But how do you plan on retraining him?’ Kakashi asks. ‘We need a diversion anyway.

‘Then I’ll take care of that.’ Chouji puts his hand on his chest.

‘No that won’t work either. You’ll be finished if he attacks you and gets even a little of your blood. It’d be a bad move for us to approach him and attack. You store up chakra to take out the masked guy with Kakashi-sensei.’

Chouji nods.

‘I’ll capture him by myself. And I’ll fulfill that role!’

‘What role?’ Naruto looks around the room, no one has an answer for him.

Eventually it’s Sasuke who speaks up. ‘Maybe revenge?’

Naruto shrugs. Revenge is not something he sees Shikamaru do but hey, who knows? ‘This is going to be awesome! I know it.’ He sits down upright and starts wobbling in his seat again.

‘It better be.’ Sasuke agrees.

‘I’ll leave it to you.’ Kakashi says. He takes out something from his pocket and hands it over to Shikamaru. ‘Take this.’

‘Right.’ Shikamaru closes his hand before anyone could see what’s in it. And puts it in his pocket.

‘Why aren’t they showing us?’ Chouji asks. He’s curious. It must be something important they got there.

‘Spoilers.’ Kakashi holds up his book once again.

Naruto turns to look at him. ‘What? That’s not good enough a reason.’

‘Is it? We already know this is for entertainment as well.’ Kakashi explains once again.

‘Whatever.’

Shikamaru calmly walks toward the enemies. Hidan readies his scythe. Kakashi also readies himself.

Then in a split second Shikamaru launches his first attack. He stretches out his shadow toward Hidan.

‘That again. Are you that afraid of my powerful scythe?’ He jumps out of the way from the attack.

Kakashi takes this time to start attacking Kakuzu, to make sure he won’t interfere. Which then result into one epic showdown.

‘Go! Kakashi! Shikamaru!’ Naruto cheers.

Several other join in with the cheering. ‘Get them!’ Lee yells out loud.

Hidan watches the fight with interest but Shikamaru is already sending a shadow after him. ‘Hey! Hey!’ And Hidan jumps away.

Meanwhile Kakuzu is going full on stretched limbs on Kakashi. Grabbing him midair and throwing him on the ground.

‘Interesting techniques that man has.’ Shisui is impressed. He’s never seen someone stretch out their limbs like that before, maybe in another tv show but nothing is coming to mind.

‘They’re just weird.’ Jiraiya’s face is scrunched. He really shouldn’t be the one to complain, he can stretch out his hair, but this is strange.

Hidan is also still avoiding the shadow. ‘Sneaking around like that from a distance? How pathetic.’ He seems to be enjoying himself quite a bit.

Shikamaru is getting a bit tired. He splits his shadow into multiples.

‘You can do this!’ Naruto has his eyes on the screen, not blinking because he doesn’t want to miss anything.

‘He just has to catch him, right?’ Sasuke looks to the others of his class.

‘And then get away. I hope he’ll be able to keep the jutsu going for that long.’ Tenten has her eyes on the screen as well.

‘We better hope.’

The fighting goes on for quite a bit. Dodging and kicks being dealt in quick succession. Shikamaru sends another chakra blade in Hidan’s direction, which the man now knows how to dodge. He falls down the tree he’s standing on and Shikamaru picks up the blade with his shadow and sends it once again at Hidan.

‘This better hit!’ Lee yells out.

‘Shh. This is the good bit.’ Neji slaps the other boy on the head. Lee rubs his head but doesn’t say anything else.

The only way that he was able to dodge was by using his scythe to latch onto the tree and stop his fall. He’s smirks. If I just keep focusing on the shadow I would be able to dodge.

‘You think!’ Ino knows better than that. She has practiced against Shikamaru before and those fights are never easy. Maybe seeing the stakes like this would motivate him to do even better.

What he didn’t count on was Shikamaru joining in of the fight himself. He throws a punch at Hidan. ‘I’m not just sneaking around from a distance!’ He hits the man’s hand and now their shadows are connected. So even when they let go of each other Shikamaru still got Hidan within his grasp.

He lands on the ground. ‘The shadow possession jutsu is a success.’

‘Yeah!’ Naruto yells out, fist in the air.

‘Take that!’ Sasuke stood up from his seat and cheers out loud as well.

Shikamaru had to give it to his older self. ‘Smart move.’

‘You jerk!’ Hidan growls out.

‘Go Shikamaru!’ Kakashi yells at him.

Shikamaru takes this as his sign to let Hidan let go of his scythe. Hidan is pissed. ‘Let’s take a nice little walk just the two of us.’ Shikamaru smiles. Then he darts of away from the battlefield. Hidan following him because he’s caught in the jutsu.

‘Good call. Leaving his weapon behind.’ Sakura says to the boy in question.

‘Only an idiot wouldn’t do that.’

Shikamaru enters the forest, a lot denser than the field they were in previously.

‘Hey where are we going?’ Hidan yells. ‘Are you trying to separate me from Kakuzu?’ Shikamaru snorts. ‘You asshole!’

Naruto sticks out his tongue. ‘Heh. Take that you asshole.’

Shikamaru uses a couple Kunai with tags to set something up within the forest. Strings are attached to the kunai, on those strings multiple tags hang.

‘In the forest, huh.’ Shikaku smiles, he knows where this is going. He can’t help but be proud.

‘Smart. Everyone knows not the fight leaf ninja in the forest.’ Shisui nods in agreement. It’s kind of like: don’t fight mist nin on the water. Something everyone outside knows.

‘It’s not only that.’ Shikaku says with a smile on his face.

Shisui blinks. ‘What else?’

‘You’ll see.’

‘So, you won’t let me get away, huh?’ Shikamaru undoes the shadow possession. ‘This shadow technique only lasts about five minutes, right?’ Hidan smiles. ‘And it’s just the two of us. That works out well for me, too. You idiot!’ He runs toward Shikamaru, using a different weapon this time. And slashes Shikamaru cheek.

‘No!’ Naruto screams out. Shikamaru as well is wondering what his future self is thinking.

Shikamaru is shocked. He actually got hit. Hidan licks the blood from the weapon and his skin starts to darken. There are also white stripes appearing on his body. He then stabs himself in the hand, his face starts to express absolute bliss. He then proceeds to draw a pattern on the ground with his feet.

‘Take note.’ Jiraiya urges the Uchiha boy. Shisui is writing it down with the ferocity of a T-rex.

‘This is an interesting technique.’ Itachi would love to one day get to know the inner workings of it. Are there other people as well that can use the technique? How does one obtain the ability? ‘I would like to study it one day.’

Shisui laughs at his friend. ‘If we ever get the chance.’

‘Everything’s ready…’ He raises his weapon. ‘I’ve waited for this. Die!’ and he plunges the weapon into himself.

Shikamaru winces forward in pain.

‘He connects his body with the victims and by causing fatal wounds on himself the opponent dies. He can survive because of his immortality.’ Hiruzen has to take that in. He’s never heard of anything like it. ‘That’s one scary technique.’

‘And he only needs a drop of blood.’ Chouza watches the screen. He can see the distress on his friend’s face. He might be trying to hide it but it’s as obvious as a penguin in the desert to him.

‘I really hope I won’t have to deal with him in the future.’ Ino shudders. Hopefully they can change the future so much that this wouldn’t have to happen.

‘You’re not the only one.’

‘How about that? It’s addicting pain, isn’t it?’ Hidan says. Shikamaru coughs and remembers his teacher. He falls forward, lighter falls out of his pocket. ‘How worthless, Lord Jashin must be disappointed. Now, Kakuzu must be about finished by now, too.’

A close up of Shikamaru’s hand is shown, there is this pin like thing lying inside it. Hidan turns to walk away. His skin turns back to normal. ‘Time to go.’

‘Could that be the thing Kakashi gave him?’ Iruka asks. Why else would they show it to them then?

‘How does that stop him from being hit?’ Naruto is confused. He better gets an explanation later. He’s still mad that Shikamaru died. He better be lying or something.

However, behind him Shikamaru stands up again. He rushes at Hidan and cuts his neck; his forehead protector falls on the ground. He then captures Hidan in his jutsu.

‘You jerk. How are you alive?’ Hidan yells.

‘Go Shika!’ Naruto cheers. Something inside him knew he wasn’t dead. Shikamaru could never die.

‘I’m curious as well. How did he survive?’ Itachi asks out loud. He has some theories, but he couldn’t quite make out what the thing in Shikamaru’s hand was, but he can come up with some conclusions.

Shikamaru scrunches his brows in concentration. ‘I just pretended I was dead.’ He wipes his cheek showing that the cut wasn’t actually a cut but just some strategic placement of blood. ‘The blood on that weapon isn’t mine.’ Hidan looks at Shikamaru in shock. ‘It’s your partner’s blood.’

‘So Kakuzu must have lost another heart.’ Jiraiya nods. ‘Taking advantage of the situation.’

‘When did they get Kakuzu’s blood then?’ Naruto asks but no one has an answer for him. He doesn’t even get a response.

‘What do you mean?’

‘If given an opportunity we needed to get your partner’s blood. In this capsule, you see.’ A flashback is shown of Shikamaru dodging the strike of Hidan and applying the blood to the weapon. And himself. ‘That was our strategy.’

‘That must have taken some precise timing to pull off.’ Shisui is impressed. With the sharingan something like that would’ve been a piece of cake, but for someone that doesn’t have it… it’s impressive to say the least.

‘He’s quite skilled it seems.’ Chouza admits. He looks at his friend’s face and can see how proud he is of his son.

‘You jerk!’ Hidan is angered. Shikamaru’s grip is slowly loosening. ‘Even I can tell, and I’m not all that bright,’ Hidan laughs, ‘it’s been so many times already. Any idiot could figure out your jutsu after seeing it so many times.’

‘What did you say?’ Shikamaru says.

‘What’s going to happen now?’ Naruto is shaking in his seat. He doesn’t want things to go bad now.

‘Either Shikamaru outsmarts the guy, which doesn’t seem all that difficult to be honest, or he dies. Take your pick.’ Shisui says. Naruto glares at the boy.

‘Shikamaru is going to live.’

‘I certainly hope so. Death seems a bit too troublesome.’ Shikamaru himself decides to interrupt. He got a couple faces to say the least.

‘Figures.’

‘It seems your jutsu isn’t as strong as it was before. I didn’t even need five minutes. I can move.’ He takes the weapon from his body and slowly stands up. ‘The endurance of you power and its effect gradually decrease each time you use it.’ Hidan struggles against his restraints. ‘Basically, the longer you use it, the weaker it gets. Aren’t you just about out of chakra? Huh?’ He takes a step forward, and another. Shikamaru falls over in pain.

Hidan raises his weapon and begins laughing maniacally. ‘I can move.’ He takes another step. ‘I can move.’

‘Do something.’ Sasuke whispers at the screen, he’s grabbing his desk in anxiousness. The fight is turning scary now. But also, very exciting.

‘I probably have something in mind.’ It’s not like he placed all those tags without reason. ‘I’m not that easily defeated.’

‘Darn it.’

‘You sure about that?’ Neji looks at the guy. Shikamaru shrugs. He doesn’t want to entertain the other boy.

‘If you had believed in Lord Jashin, you may have gotten a helping hand in your time of need.’ Shikamaru scoffs. ‘If you’ll believe in Lord Jashin from now on to honor your reformation…’ He then laughs. ‘As if I’d forgive you! Idiot!’ Hidan is about to throw his weapon.

Shikamaru raises his hand and the attack stops. ‘I don’t care about his forgiveness.’ The shadows of the strings hold Hidan in place. ‘Shadow pulling no Jutsu!’ And the strings start moving until all of the tags are stuck to Hidan, binding him in place.

‘He got him!’ Naruto smiles.

Sasuke looks around the room. ‘Is he going to make the tags explode?’ Wouldn’t Shikamaru be standing too close then?

‘That seems likely.’ Itachi says. There has to be a reason they got place there. He knows Shikamaru is smart enough to figure something out.

‘You!’

Shikamaru smiles. ‘I still have this much chakra left.’ He throws a knife inside one of the circles around the battlefield.

‘What’s that going to do?’ Sakura asks. She’s never seen a circle like that before.

‘Who knows. It was already there before they got there.’ Iruka can only guess that it’s something Shikamaru prepared beforehand. That’s something he would do.

‘What are you doing?’ Hidan is raging.

‘Just watch.’ Shikamaru responds. The ground underneath Hidan starts to break, the power of the strings holding him in place right above the hole.

‘What happened? When did you do this?’ Hidan is shocked.

‘I had this trap prepared beforehand.’ Shikamaru smiles.

‘Said so.’

‘As soon as they were caught they were done for.’ Neji smirks. ‘You really weren’t lying.’

Shikamaru doesn’t turn to acknowledge the other boy. ‘Of course not.’ He says with no emotion even if he’s secretly really proud of himself.

So, he didn’t just separate us on a whim, but he purposely lured me here? Hidan’s mouth is handing wide open. Then this was all his plan!

‘He figured it out?’ Sasuke is shocked. To think someone as stupid as that could come to that conclusion.

‘Amazing.’ Tenten joins in.

‘Shut your sarcasm.’

‘When you curse someone, you dig two holes.’ Shikamaru starts. ‘You know what that means?’

‘What!’

‘What does that mean?’ Naruto tilts his head. He gets no response.

Shikamaru holds the lighter in his hand. ‘If you curse to kill someone, you also get killed in retribution, that’s why you need two holes for the burial.’ He opens the lighter. And starts the sparks. ‘You cursed and killed my teacher. Don’t think I’ll let you get away free and easy.’ Shikamaru turns to look at the man. ‘This hole is your grave.’

‘I’m smelling badassery in the air.’ Kiba sniffs the air to illustrate his point.

Naruto laughs. ‘You’re not the only one.’

‘I never imagined Shika could be this cool.’ Ino is surprised. She likes to shit on him a lot. Because he’s always so lazy. But seeing him like this… it changes her mind.

‘Maybe one day we’ll see Hinata be badass as well.’ Sasuke says. He would love to see that.

‘That would be cool.’

Hidan laughs. ‘I am not going to die. Even if my body is dismembered into pieces and only my head remains, I am going to drag myself out and eat your throat!’

‘Tasty.’ Shisui laughs.

Itachi turns to his friend all serious. ‘Is it?’

‘Of course not!’

Shikamaru only smiles and turns to look. Hidan follows the direction he’s looking at. Several deer appear from the forest. Hidan is shocked.

‘Oh. They’re in the Nara forest.’ Inoichi gets it now. He should’ve come to that conclusion sooner.

Fugaku nods as well. ‘That explains a lot.’

‘These woods are a special place in the land of fire. Our family is the only ones allowed in. No one else comes here.’ The screen focusses on one of the deer. ‘Our family will always keep an eye on you.’

Shikamaru is still fiddling with the lighter. A ghost appears over his shoulder. Its Asuma. Shikamaru turns on the lighter and lights the ghost’s cigarette.

‘I told you all! Ghosts are real! And they’re there to kill us.’ Naruto yells at all the people in the room.

‘Shut up Naruto.’ And Sakura delivers one of her strongest punches to the top of his head.

‘My will of fire is now yours.’ The ghost says. Shikamaru breathes in and then out.

‘You jerk! Why are you turning that on?’ Hidan screams out.

Naruto rubs his head. Sakura did a number on him. ‘He’s as angry as the landlady when I don’t pay my rent.’

‘She must get angry really quickly then.’ Sasuke laughs.

Naruto leans in to whisper in his ears. ‘You haven’t seen it yet.’

‘It’s the will of fire that protects our village.’ Shikamaru throws the lighter at Hidan and as soon as it hits him, he’s blown to pieces.

Shikamaru watches deadpan expression on his face.

‘He’s really not taking any shit.’ Shisui laughs up until he’s hit by lady Mikoto.

‘Language.’ She stares the boy down.

Shisui is taking none of it. ‘Those kids curse more than we do!’ Her glare intensifies. ‘Sorry.’

Hidan’s limbs fall into the hole beneath the ground. Shikamaru looks inside the hole. It seems as though Hidan is knocked out. Only his head is remaining. Then he opens his eyes and begins laughing.

‘This is kind of gross.’ Ino has never seen a body in pieces before, especially one that’s still talking.

‘You’re telling me.’ Even the adults are a little disturbed.

‘How does that even work. There is no blood circulation going anymore.’ Itachi goes over multiple calculations in his head. ‘Bodies don’t work like that, even with chakra.’

Shisui pats his back. ‘You’re thinking too much, Itachi.’

‘This is a sorry state. How dare you do this to me?’ He laughs once again. But Shikamaru is not taking the bait. ‘Lord Jashin will punish you for this! A greater judgement will be handed down by Jashin himself!’

Shikamaru looks down. ‘That doesn’t scare me.’ He takes a kunai with more tags out of his pocket. ‘We believe in different things.’ The sun shines down on Shikamaru. ‘I believe in the will of fire. But that god is not that stupid Jashin or anything. Now I will hand down judgement.’

‘Shikamaru… I’ve never seen this side of you before.’ Kiba has to take a second. He knows the boy as a lazy head. To see him actually angry is certainly something.

‘I haven’t either.’ Chouji agrees with him.

‘You jerk!’ Shikamaru throws the kunai in the ground next to the hole. Exploding it. Allowing for the rocks to cover Hidan. ‘I told you, judgement will be handed down to you by lord Jashin.’ Hidan laughs and his body parts are sprinkled around him. ‘And I will carry out that judgement! I only need teeth to take care of you!’ Several rocks fall onto his face. ‘I’ll chew you up into little pieces!’ Then the last rock falls.

‘Does that mean he’s dead now?’ Naruto asks. He didn’t really get killed.

‘Not truly dead, but he’s trapped for life, which is as good as death.’ Iruka explains. No one is allowed to enter those woods. So it’s not like someone would be able to get him out of there.

‘Sounds boring.’

Shikamaru watches as the hole is filled. One of the deer walks forward and starts digging something. It’s the lighter. Shikamaru picks it up and turns it on, looking at the flame. That is where the scene ends.

‘Wow.’ Sasuke is jumping in his seat. ‘This was one awesome fight scene.’ He’s learned so much. He can’t wait to get to apply it himself.

‘And it gave us a lot of info on the Akatsuki.’ Shikamaru has to agree with him. It prepares them a lot more than anything they’ve seen before.

‘That it did.’ Itachi has to agree. The only other member they know anything about is himself… he doesn’t quite know how to feel about that.

‘I wanted to know how Kakuzu ended up though.’ Naruto complains.

‘Me too!’ Kiba lays down his head on the desk.

‘Maybe we’ll get to see that later.’

‘This is one of the fragments that gave us some of the most information yet.’ Shisui looks to the adults for any additional information they could give him. He wrote down as much as he could.

‘The way to kill the two immortals.’ Hiashi has to take that in. It truly seems that there is no such thing as immortality.

‘Not only that.’ Shikaku puts in.

Inoichi looks at his friend. ‘What do you mean?’

‘It gives us a clearer view of the timeline. This event takes place between the first time we saw Hidan and Kakuzu and the goddess moment.’ He takes the timeline from Itachi’s hands and puts down it down in the right placement.

‘You’re right about that.’ Shisui didn’t even notice that.

Mikoto sighs. ‘At least we have a better view of what we’re up against.’ Not that she was there to help.

‘Not that I’m liking it.’ Fugaku says. He can only hope Sasuke would never have to deal with these kinds of people.

‘Me neither.’

Added notes:

Hidan can kill once he gets your blood. He licks it, makes a circle and connects his body with yours, then he’s able to stab himself and kill you.
- Can be killed by blowing him into pieces and burying him under ground

Kakuzu has five hearts, of all chakra natures, when one dies another can take its place
- All hearts have to be destroyed for him to die

Use deadly combination attacks

‘What’s next!’ Naruto cheers. He’s in a good mood now. He wants to get to watch something fun again.

‘I think we can do one more scene before we go sleep.’ Hiruzen decides. Time flies when you’re watching the future. These kids can’t go to bed too late, or they’ll get grumpy.

‘So, what is it?’ Sasuke asks the robot.

The screen lights up and reads: ‘Meeting a pervert.’

‘Let me guess. Jiraiya!’ Kakashi points to the man he’s speaking about.

‘Why?’ Why does everyone think of him when they talk about perverts?

Iruka shoots him a look. ‘Why’d you think?’

Chapter Text

Naruto stands on the water. His feet are partially sunken and he’s struggling to stand. He looks over at his teacher. ‘I think I’m starting to get it.’

‘Water walking.’ Jiraiya says with a smile on his face. For him there are some good memories associated with the exercise. Back when he and his team were still young.

Tsume burst out laughing. ‘I remember the first time I tried.’

‘You fell in and it took you five minutes to get out.’ Hiashi glares at the woman. Tsume just gives him a little slap on the back.

‘The water was amazing, how could I not.’

‘It was training.’

The screen turns to Ebisu. My goodness. He’s gotten the knack of this chakra control exercise so quickly, I never imagined he would have matured this much. Naruto is still struggling to stand. And it’s true, no matter the context, there are no shortcuts in life. Ebisu pushes up his glasses. It seems I had underestimated you. You are an even wiser teacher than I, and you are also more than just a fox demon.

‘Yes, he is!’ Rock Lee screams at the screen. There are several other people that nod along with him. It makes Naruto shine from his seat.

‘And as it turns out the fox has feelings too.’ Tenten smiles.

Then Ino decides to have a little fun. ‘And he’s in love with Naruto.’

Neji looks at the girl in front of him with a blank look on his face. ‘I’m pretty sure he’s not.’

He turns to look at Naruto once more. You are truly a splendid Konoha ninja!

‘I’m going to be hokage after all.’ Naruto pats his chest, sitting up straighter than he ever has before. The people around him ignore him however.

Then Naruto screams out and points at a certain corner in the hot springs. After which he promptly falls into the water.

‘Comedic genius.’ Shisui laughs out loud.

Itachi blinks a couple times. ‘I think it’s just bad chakra control.’

Shisui looks at his friend and gives him a friendly shove. He’s always so serious.

Ebisu turns around to look at what Naruto was pointing at. There is a man with long white hair giggling at one of the walls in the hot spring. Ebisu scoffs. ‘I don’t know who you are or where you’re from, but… I will not permit any disreputable behavior!

‘It’s Jiraiya!’ Naruto cheers. So, this really is his first meeting with the guy. He’s curious as to what their relationship becomes. He hopes it will be fun.

‘As we predicted.’ Hiashi huffs. He’s as ever disturbed by the man’s behavior. A good man would never do such a thing, even if they have a genetic advantage that could make it a lot easier to get away with.

‘He is doing something criminal.’ Sakura has her hand in front of her mouth, absolutely shocked by the behavior of the man within the room.

‘You don’t want to know how many times he got arrested already.’ Fugaku puts his hand on his forehead while shaking his head.

‘How much?’

‘His criminal record is 15 pages just listing the amounts of times he was arrested.’ He says. ‘And it’s all inappropriate behavior toward ladies.’

Mikoto stares the man down. ‘Get your act together.’

Jiraiya winces but doesn’t say anything. Nothing would get him out of the hole he dug himself.

‘No wonder he doesn’t have a girlfriend.’ Even Ino, who is usually also on the side of the perverts, is a little disturbed. That is one dirty old man.

The man turns around. ‘Huh? Then out of nowhere a giant toad appears. ‘Sheesh.’

Ebisu looks on in shock. ‘Y-you’re!’ The tongue of the toad slips out of its mouth and punches Ebisu away. He falls to the ground unconscious.

‘He recognizes the guy.’ Sasuke stares at the screen. This Jiraiya guy must be famous or something. But then why has he never heard of the guy before?

Jiraiya straightens himself. ‘That’ll do him right.’

‘Don’t make a fuss, eh? Sheesh. You’ll get us busted and what’ll we do then?’

‘Add another offence to the list.’ Fugaku glares at the screen. The man is not on his favored people list simply because of the amount of times he had to arrest the guy.

Jiraiya is wise enough to know not to mess with angry Uchiha.

Naruto watches the whole scene in shock. He beat super perv? What’s going on? Who the heck is this blatant perv? Naruto walks over to Ebisu and pokes him a couple times. He’s totally out cold. I guess he really is weak, after all. Then Naruto turns to the other man.

‘Naruto calls Ebisu super perv?’ Shisui blinks. Ebisu got to be the least perverted guy he knows. At least that’s what he thought.

‘Another closet pervert. Good to know.’ Jiraiya nods at the screen. Maybe he should send the guy a copy of his newest book.

‘Hell no!’ Out of nowhere Tsume sends a frying pan at the man. It hits his head and he falls to the ground. Eventually he stands up again, rubbing his head.

‘That hurt.’

‘What’s up with that humongous frog? Who the heck are you?’

The white-haired man strikes a pose. ‘Wait just a minute there! Good question! I am the most holy hermit sage of the mount Myoboku toads, otherwise known as the toad sage. Pleased to meet ya!’

‘You usually state you name first.’ Iruka looks at the man in question. Is it his goal to confuse people for some reason?

‘Calling yourself by your own title is just arrogant.’ Inoichi too is a little taken by the man’s rudeness.

‘Not to mention rude.’ Itachi agrees with them.

Jiraiya just slinks down in his seat. Defeated by people younger than him, in a conversation. Can’t he do anything right?

‘Toad sage?’ Naruto is confused. This man is strange.

‘Yup.’ The man hops from the toad.

‘Hey, you! Pervy sage! What are you gonna do about him, huh?’ Naruto yells. ‘He was supposed to oversee my training, but you knocked him out!’

‘Pervy sage… pfft.’ Sasuke laughs from his seat. Naruto right next to him bursts out in laughter as well. The look on Jiraiya’s face makes it even better.

Shikamaru shrugs. ‘It works.’

‘He interfered with my research!’

‘Research?’

‘I’m a writer. I write novels,’ Jiraiya takes a familiar orange book from his pocket, ‘Like this one!’

‘Don’t show it to the kids.’ Chouza stares the man down, while still eating his chips. There are several adults that agree as well. Itachi, meanwhile, is just confused.

Naruto remembers Kakashi always reading that book and giggling like a weirdo. ‘Oh, that!’

‘Kakashi! Don’t read that in front of the children.’ Mikoto stares at the man, who was smart enough to put his book right back in his pocket.

‘Maa. I’m sure I had my reasons.’ He might appear all calm but inside he’s sweating. He knows women are the scariest creatures of all and he doesn’t want to get caught in their wrath.

‘I’m pretty sure those reasons are social awkwardness.’ Shisui laughs at the man. He gets a glare back.

‘You’ve heard of it? It’s gotten quite famous!’ Jiraiya smiles. Proud of himself.

‘Yes, I’ve heard of it! It’s a dirty book! It’s indecent!’ Naruto points at the man accusingly. ‘Besides what the heck kind of research was that? You were just peeping on the women’s bath, you perv!’

‘Good job Naruto.’ Sakura pats his back. Naruto nearly falls on the desk by the force of her pats. Sakura is already super strong. No wonder she became so powerful.

‘Tell him how it is.’ Tenten agrees with her fellow girls.

Naruto sits up again and rubs the back of his head. ‘Hehehe.’

‘You fool! I am no ordinary pervert. The peeping provides me with the inspiration to produce better work!’ Jiraiya yells right back at him.

‘Then watch some licensed stuff. Not watch people without their consent.’ Mikoto is still glaring at the man. She had actually taken out her sword as well, just to show that she can, and will, beat him if necessary.

‘I agree.’ Tsume too has taken out her weapon, the frying pan.

‘Liar! I don’t want to hear your excuses! All I want to know is, what are you going to do about my training?’ Naruto continues to scream at Jiraiya.

‘Training? You mean the water walking drill you were just doing?’

‘What else?’

‘You know that exercise?!’ Naruto points at the man. ‘Then do your duty and take over as the supervisor of my training!’ Naruto glares at the man to convince him. It’s not working.

‘He’s not legally obligated to do so.’ Itachi says quite softly. He has been studying the laws of the village after all. It’s expected of him to become part of the police force once he’s old enough. That means he does have to know the rules.

‘Just because he doesn’t have to doesn’t mean it’s not rude to leave the guy standing.’ Shisui explains to his friend. Itachi could have trouble distinguishing state laws from unsaid societal laws.

‘I cannot stand rude jerks! And I absolutely hate men!’ Jiraiya yells right back at Naruto. Naruto winces, he has to come up with something better to convince him.

‘That make-out paradise book, it was the coolest, really…’

‘Flattery will get you nowhere kid.’ Jiraiya tells Naruto.

In response Naruto sticks out his tongue. ‘I would like to object to that.’ He puts up his hand and points at Iruka. ‘If you complement Iruka-sensei enough he’ll be less boring and maybe even treat you to ramen.’

‘That’s only you Naruto.’ Iruka mutters. He only does it because he feels sorry for the guy, and because he can see himself in Naruto.

‘Liar! That novel is for adults only!’

Naruto is getting nowhere like this. Aw, man! Well, in that case… Naruto makes a sign.

‘What’s he going to do now?’ Chouji blinks at the screen. Why would Naruto have to use a jutsu in a situation like this?

‘Shadow clones?’ Rock Lee asks. He looks at the people around him.

Eventually it’s Shikamaru that speaks up. ‘Doubt it.’

Jiraiya is doing his best to intimidate Naruto, acting like a cartoon villain. ‘I’m a powerful sage! I’m no fool to be twirled on a string around the finger of a greenhorn like you. What a despicable brat!’

‘If you act like that no one is going to listen to you.’ Neji points out. Jiraiya can see where he’s coming from. It looks absolutely ridiculous.

‘Take this!’ And Naruto transforms. ‘Sexy jutsu!’ He turns into a naked girl and acts all cutely in front of Jiraiya. ‘How do you like me now?’

‘Oh my.’ Iruka is now sporting a brand-new blush on his face.

The girls turn to the young boy that invented the jutsu. ‘Naruto!’ Sakura now outright punches him on the back.

Naruto rubs his head. ‘I thought we already established that I do that!’

‘Transforming into guys yes, girls no!’ Sakura explains like it’s totally different.

Naruto doesn’t quite get it. ‘Guys girls, what does it matter?’ They’re both people.

‘For some people quite a bit.’ Shikamaru explains. He doesn’t quite get it himself. But he doesn’t really care either.

‘I like it a lot!’ Jiraiya is ecstatic.

Naruto blinks. What an idiot.

‘At least he knows it.’ Hiashi huffs.

‘You’re my type of gal. What’s this technique called?’ Jiraiya is inspecting the jutsu as much as he can. ‘Well?’

‘I call it sexy jutsu, but…’ Naruto rubs the back of his head.

‘What an imagination! You’re a genius!!’

‘I wouldn’t call that genius.’ Sasuke looks at the screen like the people inside it are stupid. Which they, according to him, definitely are.

‘It worked on a goddess, I would say it’s genius.’ Shino responds to the young Uchiha. Sasuke shrugs. He can see his point.

Naruto just stands there. I have a feeling that adults are extremely vulnerable to this technique… Naruto makes another cute face. ‘Then you’ll oversee my training?’

‘Yup! On one condition!’ Jiraiya explains.

‘Jiraiya…’ Hiruzen stares at his student, disapproving looks on his face.

Jiraiya turns to his teacher. ‘What? I want my research. You read those books too sensei.’

‘He does. He keeps them in the second drawer on the left side in his desk.’ Naruto tells the entire room. Hiruzen sighs but does send a friendly glare at the boy. Naruto can only smile.

‘How do you know that?’ Sakura asks.

Naruto puts his finger to his lips. ‘That’s a secret.’

Naruto blinks and puts on an even cuter face. ‘One condition? What is it?’

Jiraiya turns away with a nosebleed. Then he slowly turns around. ‘You have to stay like that the entire time you’re around me.’

‘He’s twelve.’ Shisui states, no emotion but disgust.

‘That’s just indecent.’ Fugaku completely agrees with him.

Inoichi too agrees. ‘Shame on you.’

Jiraiya only sinks even more in his seat.

Not even a second later Naruto turns back. ‘Inspiration my ass! You are just a plain old pervert, you pervy sage!’

‘Tell it Naruto.’ Ino cheers him on. She would love to read those books once she gets older but for now she would have to wait.

‘No, you’re wrong! I am no ordinary pervert!’

‘What? Don’t mess around!’ Naruto points at the man.

‘I am a mega pervert!’ Jiraiya tells him with the dirtiest expression on his face.

‘Dude… that’s just embarrassing.’ Kiba shudders by the insane amount of shame radiating in the room.

‘Imagine living your life and that being your proudest achievement.’ Naruto completely agrees.

‘Shame on you.’

He really has no shame… Naruto sweats a little.

‘But all joking aside, I’ll supervise your training.’ Jiraiya is still doing perverted motions. ‘Kiddo. Try that drill again.’

‘At least he gets serious when he needs to.’ Shikaku says.

‘Yeah I’m great like that.’ Jiraiya proudly pats himself on the chest. He does get a couple glares in return. Which makes him sink once again.

Immediately Naruto brightens and walks back over to the water. ‘Yes sir!’ He concentrates and tries walking on the water again. Jiraiya is observing everything that’s happening. Before Naruto falls right back in.

‘He’s struggling quite a bit.’ Iruka observes. While struggling at first is quite normal it almost looks like Naruto is struggling to use any chakra at all.

‘Maybe something is wrong.’ Itachi nods along.

Naruto jumps out of the water. ‘There is no point in wearing these stupid clothes!’ he takes of his jacket and pants.

‘Sexy.’ Ino smiles at the boy.

‘Shut up.’

‘Hey,’ Jiraiya calls, ‘Manipulate your chakra one more time.’ Naruto looks at the man. ‘C’mon hurry up!’

Naruto agrees and does as he is told. The seal on his stomach appears but there are several things wrong with it.

‘That’s what the seal looks like, huh?’ To the average person it just looks like an ordered collection of scribbles. Which it is, to some extent.

‘It doesn’t. There is something added to it.’ Naruto explains. The group turns to look at him.

‘I thought you didn’t know about the Kyuubi?’ Sasuke asks.

‘I might not be the smartest but even I would realize something is up when every time I use chakra something appears on my stomach.’ Naruto points at his stomach. ‘I’ve seen it a thousand times, I know when something is wrong with it.’

Sasuke shrugs. ‘Can’t really argue with that.’

Jiraiya notices these oddities. Two tetragram seals, a double deal, an eight-signed seal formula. So, any of the fox’s chakra that leaks through the tetragram seal will be suppressed by and meshed with this boy’s chakra. The fourth Hokage, he did it for this boy’s protection.

However, since then it’s been blocked by a five-pronged seal. An odd numbered seal placed on top of an even numbered seal. This kid’s chakra and the fox’s chakra are mixing together in an unstable way. No wonder he can’t manipulate chakra that well. Someone else must have done this… the formula is coarse…

‘This is making my head spin.’ Lee holds his head in his hands. This just sounds completely gibberish to him.

‘It does sound intriguing.’ Itachi doesn’t know much about sealing but he can’t say he isn’t interesting. It’s said to be rather difficult and when things come to you easily you tend to like a challenge.

Jiraiya looks at the boy. ‘I could teach you some if you want.’

‘Really?’ Itachi blinks. Jiraiya shoots him a thumbs up.

Naruto is just baffled by the confusion around him. ‘Why do you all think this is hard. It sounds pretty straightforward to me.’

‘Naruto…’ Sakura’s eyes are wide as she looks at the boy.

‘Goddamn Uzumaki blood.’ Kakashi curses in his hands. Good thing most people missed it then.

If I had to guess… I’d bet it was Orochimaru. Jiraiya holds his hand behind his back. ‘Kiddo come over here for a sec.’

‘Orochimaru… Does he have something to do with this?’ Sasuke asks. He heard about the commotion a couple weeks ago, but he doesn’t quite get what he would have to do with it. And it seems no one else does either as he doesn’t get an answer.

Naruto looks at the man, but does as he is said. He really like giving orders, doesn’t he?

‘Raise your arms up, like ‘banzai!’’ Naruto does as he is told but a little reluctantly.

‘You could also just tell him what you’re about to do.’ Kiba looks to Jiraiya for an explanation of his actions.

‘I’m guessing I didn’t know if Naruto knew about the fur ball. It’s against the law to tell him.’

Kiba blinks a couple times. ‘That makes sense.’

In an instant Jiraiya puts his hand on the seal and released the odd seal. Not much later the seal is gone.

‘Why the heck did you do that?’ Naruto lays on the ground shaking.

‘I stimulated some relaxation points for you. Just go over there and try walking on water one more time, okay?’

‘Maybe it’ll be easier for him now.’ Iruka looks at the screen to see what happens next.

Naruto stands up slowly but once he’s on the water he’s not struggling anymore. Instead he stands with ease. ‘I don’t know what’s going on, but this is awesome!’

‘And then it works.’ Kakashi glares at the screen. If only his experience had been that simple.

‘Lucky.’

‘That didn’t really tell us much either.’ Shisui sighs. He has barely taken any notes this time. Sometimes he has to struggle to keep up writing and sometimes there is just nothing to write. It’s a bit bothersome.

‘On the contrary it did tells us quite a bit.’ Shikaku interrupts.

‘What do you mean?’

‘We know that Naruto has had an encounter with Orochimaru, which is troubling. We also know that Kakashi just handed Naruto over to some teacher instead of doing it himself.’ Kakashi receives a glare from that. ‘And most importantly we know that Naruto’s chakra can easily be disrupted by one simple seal.’

‘That doesn’t sound good.’ Itachi too is having struggles placing this in the right time spot. There just aren’t enough clues.

Shisui scoffs. ‘That better not come to bite us in the ass later.’

‘Language.’ And he gets a frying pan to the head.

New notes:

Jiraiya teaches Naruto water walking

Ebisu is a pervert

Naruto’s chakra can easily be disrupted

Naruto encountered Orochimaru sometime.

Chapter Text

The group is anxiously awaiting the next title on the screen. They had just taken a little rest and ate some food. The mood in the room is currently pretty good. The last scene had cheered them all up and they could only wait for new hints to the future.

Then the screen turns on once again and the title ‘you are the father’ appears on the screen.

‘Father? Does that mean it’s about one of the dads?’ Kiba looks to the back of the class where the parents are located.

Ino shudders. ‘I hope it’s got nothing to do with a scandal.’ She has heard of plenty unknown father stories throughout her short life.

‘It better.’

The scene starts with a black orb flying into the sky. There is some chanting in the background. A man with orange hair appears and puts his hands together. ‘Planetary devastation!’ he shouts.

‘What’s going on?’ Naruto asks. When he heard the title this most certainly wasn’t what he was expecting.

‘I have no idea.’ Sasuke as well is watching the screen with eyes wide open. This man on the screen has hair an even brighter orange than Naruto tends to wear.

‘Yahiko?’ Jiraiya watches the man on the screen. He looks a lot like one of the children he left behind years ago. What could he be doing? And where did he get the rinnegan from? Did he take Nagato’s eyes?

‘What is it?’ Iruka asks.

Jiraiya shakes his head. ‘That man looks a lot like one of my previous students.’

‘Is it him?’

‘I have no idea.’

The orb flies up higher and emits a bright light. The ground beneath is falling apart. Large chunks of rocks raise up into the sky toward the orb. It’s like gravity has changed directions. More and more of the ground rips up and flies into the sky. The orange haired man seems to be controlling all of it.

‘That’s scary.’ Kiba is shocked. To think there are people that can do such things. It’s something he never could have imagined in his wildest dreams.

‘No shit.’ Lee agrees with him.

Tenten’s focus is somewhere else however. ‘He has some funky piercings.’ The rest of the group take another good look at the man. And they had to agree. It’s like they are strategically placed along his body.

‘Could they have a purpose?’ Sakura asks. She knows there’s got to be something up with them. If there wasn’t he wouldn’t have such piercings. They would get in the way too much.

Then a red figure appears. There is a red glow emanating from the creature. Not only that there are bones around it, and several tails are shown. The figure runs toward the orange man.

‘Who’s that?’ Naruto points to the figure on the screen.

The Hokage nods. ‘Judging by the state this person is in, it’s gotta be a jinchuuriki.’

‘In control?’ Shisui raises an eyebrow because this person

‘I highly doubt it.’ Itachi shrugs next to him.

To which the man responds with sending the rocks at the creature. Capturing it inside a bunch of rocks. The creature doesn’t seem to like this all the much as its attack is some sort of hyper beam that breaks the surrounding area with ease. The man is able to deflect it with some sort of rod he’s holding. It’s looks to be made of the same material as his piercings.

‘These people are ridiculous.’ Neji states. His arms are folded but he’s watching the screen with more intensity than he ever has before.

‘I don’t want to fight any of them.’ Lee whimpers next to the guy. Without able to use chakra like them he wouldn’t stand a chance. Even if he could open the eight gates.

‘And to think that man can just deflect the attacks like that.’ Tenten agrees with them. She wouldn’t stand a chance. Even in the future she doubts she would be able to defeat them.

The creature repositions itself on a rock, but it doesn’t take long before the ground rips beneath it and sends the creature up towards the glowing orb.

The orange haired man screams and puts his hands together once more. To which the mountains around them fall apart and raise up in the sky as well.

‘Are these the powers of the rinnegan?’ Hiashi asks Jiraiya. The man is arguably the one most familiar with the eyes and the legends surrounding it. Even if asking might hurt his pride he has to know. Then they could prepare for if something were to happen in the future.

‘It is said that the Sage created the moon, so it might be.’ Jiraiya might be the one most familiar with the eyes but even doesn’t know much about them. It’s not like he trained Nagato how to use them exactly. They figured out a couple things, but it was never the focus of their training.

‘A part of me is glad I don’t have to deal with shit like this.’ Shisui shudders. He’s dead in the future and while that sucks it does mean he doesn’t have to deal with all these ridiculously overpowered people.

The creature sends another hyper beam at the mountains. And more miniature attacks at the man. But to no avail. In the end there is a miniature planet flying above the ground. The creature does his best to destroy it, but it doesn’t seem to work. In the end it is captured inside. Then the screen goes dark.

Naruto appears to be inside some sort of sewer but it’s glowing orange. There is water on the ground and Naruto is staring dead ahead. ‘Why?’ he mutters.

‘Wait! That was Naruto!’ Ino screams out. Sure they know now that Naruto is a jinchuuriki but she never expected to see something like this.

‘Something must have ticked him of.’ Shikaku agrees. He knows that emotions can influence the seal, but Naruto is more resilient than anyone. Something big must have happened for him to get like that.

‘He looks so sad.’ Hinata puts her hands together.

‘The Kyuubi’s chakra could be influencing his thoughts as well.’ Inoichi agrees. He doesn’t like the look on his face. There is something wrong with it.

‘Why did it come to this?’ There is no emotion in his voice. A large red eye is staring right back at him.

In a flashback the orange haired man appears, with his clothes intact. ‘How would you confront this hatred, in order to create peace?’ He says to Naruto. ‘I want to hear your answer.’

‘It does look like Yahiko, but he doesn’t act like it.’ Jiraiya watches the screen. Yahiko isn’t the person to steal Nagato’s eyes like that. The Yahiko he knows wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t act like that either.

‘Maybe a long-lost brother or something?’ Sakura suggests.

‘Could be.’ Jiraiya shrugs but he doubts that is the case. Yahiko always told him he had no family.

Naruto is shown lying on his back, emerged in the water, with his eyes wide open. ‘How should I know?’ Naruto’s voice starts breaking. ‘It hurts, I hate this.’

The rock on the outside glows for a second before a small flame erupts from it. But it doesn’t do anything else.

‘He’s still able to fight within all that pressure.’ Shisui shudders. ‘Yup, he is a monster.’ As soon as he said the last words the group turns to look at him.

‘That’s not very nice.’ Sakura tells him. She has hated on Naruto before as well but now she knows that’s stupid and one thing she does know is that calling someone a monster isn’t a nice thing.

‘I mean it in the scary way, I didn’t mean to insult you.’ The boy makes excuses for himself, but the group still keeps eyeing him.

Slowly Naruto sits right up but it’s more like he’s being pushed rather than him doing it himself. ‘What am I supposed to do?’ Naruto sits there defeated. ‘I don’t know anything anymore!’ He clutches his head in his hands. ‘Someone, help me… Give me the answer.’ Naruto is shaking.

Then a deep voice starts speaking. ‘Destroy everything.’ It’s the Kyuubi. ‘Erase everything that hurts. Give me your soul.’ The Kyuubi’s eye is shown. ‘I will save you from m your suffering.’ Then his eye starts glowing.

‘What’s he doing?’ Shino asks. There is no emotion on his face but inside he’s shaking. He knows this is not a good thing and he can’t help but worry about Naruto.

‘Nothing good. That’s for sure.’ Kiba agrees with him. People with red glowing eyes are dangerous, his mom told him that plenty of times.

All of a sudden Naruto’s shirt opens and the seal in on display. The spiral in the center swirls until it is one black hole. Out of which a black liquid emerges. This liquid lands in the water and starts surrounding Naruto. Naruto seems to be in some sort of trance.

‘The seal is breaking.’ Jiraiya watches, amazed. He never thought something like that could be possible. The seal is the tightest he knows. But he supposes that even something like that must have a weakness.

‘Take note.’ Shikaku tells Shisui who already has his pen on paper.

‘Of course.’

‘Yes… You’re doing fine.’ The Kyuubi speaks. The black stuff keeps reaching out more and more.

Then the shot changes to a man running in the woods. He looks at his hand and sees the number 8 appear. ‘Eight? This is bad.’ And he speeds up his running just a little bit.

‘There’s that guy again!’ Naruto shouts out. He doesn’t want to think about what’s happening to him. This offers a nice distraction.

‘What is he doing?’ Sasuke’s head tilts to the side.

‘He’s likely able to see how many tails Naruto has unlocked.’ Kakashi explains. Tenzo does have the wood release which can be used to contain tailed beasts to an extent.

‘Eight out of nine doesn’t sound very good.’ Iruka shakes. This is bringing up visions of that night. The night he doesn’t want to think about ever again.

‘It certainly doesn’t.’ Itachi agrees.

That’s when Sakura realizes something. ‘Where are we though?’ The eyes of the group narrow. ‘We were with him in all the scenes before.’

‘Who knows.’

The rock too is changing. The red glow keeps expanding as well. Surrounding the rock in its entirety. A claw bursts out from the rock. Then multiple tails.

‘This is actually scaring me.’ Sasuke shakes in his seat. He’s already clinging onto Naruto, not that he’ll ever admit to that.

‘Me too.’ Naruto nods along. For him it’s extra scary because he’s the one being taken over.

The orange man stands to the side. ‘I never imagined it would be this powerful.’ He states but doesn’t seem to do anything else.

‘He just stands there so nonchalantly.’ Fugaku doesn’t like such people. They’re so powerful they can just shrug of terrors like that. He’s dealt with a couple of them before and with even more that thought of themselves as such, most only ended up in jail.

‘I can’t imagine what amount of power he must have.’ Mikoto agrees with him.

The finally at last a giant head appears from the rock. It’s still captured inside.

Naruto’s eye starts glowing red as well.

‘Like I said. Not good news.’ Kiba tells the group who end up staying silent.

The monster outside lets out a giant beam of bright red fire. What looks to be meteors start falling from the sky.

‘Come over here.’ The Kyuubi says. Naruto stands up and slowly makes his way over to the fox. ‘Rip this seal off me.’ Naruto stumbles closer and closer.

‘He’s being controlled!’ Sakura gasps. This is really bad. If the fox can just take over, then…

‘Why didn’t the fox do that sooner?’ Lee asks the adults in the room.

‘It’s likely because of the loosening of the seal that he’s able to.’ Jiraiya explains. Sure, there is a small amount of fox chakra coursing through Naruto at all times it’s nothing compared to what would go through him should the seal loosen up.

‘So bad news then.’

The man in the forest looks at his hand once more and now the number 9 is on his hand. ‘How could this happen?’

Naruto walks closer and closer.

Then a figure that looks to be watching the sun appears, his face is not visible, but he does open his eyes if you were watching close enough.

‘Who’s that?’ Chouji munches on his chips. He’s not seen that man before, right?

‘He looks familiar.’ Shikamaru says in response. He can’t quite make out who it is but he does seem familiar.

Then finally Naruto stands right in front of the cage holding the beast back. The water from the ground surrounds Naruto and raises him up to the paper seal holding the beast. Naruto raises his and grabs the paper and pulls it loose just a little.

Then out of nowhere and hand grabs him. To which Naruto gets pushed off the water plateau. And lands right back on the ground. His eyes return to their normal blue. The man that pushed Naruto away lands right next to him.

It’s the fourth Hokage.

‘What?’ Most of the kids scream out. This most certainly wasn’t what they were expecting.

‘How? He dead right?’ Naruto looks to the crowd. It’s not like the fourth secretly went into hiding right?

‘Very much so.’ Jiraiya nods. It’s not one of the moments he likes to think about.

‘Then does that mean he has been brought back to life.’ Sakura blinks. They’ve seen it happen before. So why not here as well.

‘I don’t think so.’

He holds out his hand for Naruto to grab. Naruto grabs it and pulls himself right up.

The Kyuubi isn’t exactly happy with the recent developments and shouts. ‘You’re…’

‘Say it.’ Sasuke growls at the screen. Naruto has to take a second to take that in. Sasuke growling?

‘Sheesh.’ He shrugs.

The Hokage moves in front of the beast to block Naruto’s view of it.

‘The fourth Hokage…’ Naruto mutters eyes wide.

‘They really look alike.’ Sakura stares. If she didn’t know better, she would say they’re related.

‘The shade of blond is slightly different.’ Ino observes. She is a self-proclaimed expert on blondes.

‘Really.’ Sakura blinks. She doesn’t see it.

‘It’s a small difference.’

The man in question just smiles at the boy. ‘I worked it into the seal, so that I would appear within your psyche, should the seal be broken to the point you sprouted the eighth tail.’ He speaks. The Kyuubi behind him is still raging. ‘I really wanted to avoid that… Since I had no desire to see you again Kyuubi.’ He turns around to look at the beast.

‘That’s a relief.’ Shikaku sighs. It means they could go a bit harder on Naruto’s training without risking the release of the Kyuubi.

‘It does take a lot of the weight of the chest.’ Chouza agrees.

Fugaku puts his head in his hand. ‘Of course, he would have done something like this.’

The Kyuubi growls at the man.

‘Then again…’ he turns to look at Naruto again, ‘I did look forward to seeing my son as a young man. So, I’ll call it even.’

‘Oh gosh.’ Ino gasps. It all makes sense now.

‘Wait what?’ Naruto blinks. He’s not quite sure he heard that correctly.

‘He’s your dad, Naruto.’ Sasuke shakes him. Naruto stares dead ahead. It’s like the words don’t quite land in him.

‘No that can’t be.’ He shakes his head. Tears are forming in the corners of his eyes. He doesn’t believe it. It can’t be.

‘It’s true.’ Sakura tells him. The adults are silent, only watching the conversation from afar.

Naruto wipes his eyes. ‘I don’t have parents.’

‘Yet your father is right there.’ Sakura gives him a large hug. Sasuke hesitates but joins the hug as well. Call him weak all you like.

‘Fourth Hokage! Come here! I’ll rip you to shreds!’ The best growls. His eyes are staring at the two intently.

‘Well, if that’s the case, I’ll stay away.’ He turns back to Naruto again. ‘Isn’t that right, Naruto.’

‘Smart choice.’ Kakashi nods his head in approval.

Itachi laughs. ‘I would’ve done the same.’

‘Who wouldn’t?’

‘Naruto… My name…’ Naruto is shocked. ‘How come the fourth Hokage knows my name?’

‘Well… I’m the one who named you.’ He looks Naruto in the eye. ‘You are my son after all.’

‘He really doesn’t get it.’ Neji grumbles. How can one just ignore the fact that are right in front of them?

‘It’s not out of stupidity if that’s what you’re thinking.’ Ino tells him.

‘He’s just shocked.’ Hinata agrees with her. She can see where Naruto is coming from.

‘Son? Then… I’m…’ Naruto doesn’t seem to be able to make full sentences.

‘You heard me. You’re my son.’

‘Aw. That’s so sweet.’ Tenten’s eyes turn into hearts. There is just something adorable about that whole situation.

‘He’s my dad…’ Naruto quivers. ‘I don’t know what to think about that.’

Sasuke blinks. ‘Uh… you could smile.’

Naruto’s eyes widen before he starts shaking. A half smile appears on his face and his eyes begin to water. Before he starts to actually laugh out loud. The Kyuubi in the background just glares at the two of them. Growling and shouting about things he wants to do to them.

‘It feels a bit wrong watching this.’ Lee says. There are several others that agree with him. This seems a little too personal. But then again, they watched Kakashi breakdown.

‘No kidding.’

‘Loud fellow, isn’t he?’ Minato points at the fox behind him. ‘Let’s go somewhere quiet.’ And with just a snap of his fingers they are transported to an area glowing bright yellow.

‘He can use magic!’ Kiba watches in awe. He’s never heard of someone using magic before.

‘I don’t think that’s magic.’ Iruka tells the boy.

Inoichi laughs. ‘It’s just mystical mind powers.’ This receives a glare from Iruka.

Naruto continues laughing.

‘The third Hokage didn’t tell you much of anything, did he?’ Minato says with his face all serious. ‘I guess he wanted to suppress as much information about the Nine-Tails as possible. If people found out you were my son, you’d have been in danger.’

‘That’s one of the reasons.’ The Hokage states. There is an implication of there being more to it.

However, Kiba is stupid enough to continue asking. ‘What are the others?’

‘The status of our Jinchuuriki is well known within the village. If a foreigner would come in it wouldn’t take them long to find out who it is.’ The Hokage starts his explanation.

‘And they could take him away.’ Shisui continues. But there is an objection.

‘Actually not.’ Shikaku starts explaining. ‘The tailed beasts were shared to the various nations to keep a balance. If one were to take a beast from another village the balance scale would flop, and this could have disastrous consequences.’ The group takes that information in. There is a silent agreement between the villages that stealing a bijuu is a taboo. ‘They could stunt his growth however.’

‘That’s why you didn’t tell Naruto?’ Sasuke tilts his head.

The Hokage continues to explain. ‘There are only two currently well-known jinchuuriki in the world. The first being the Mizukage, who obviously has the means to protect himself. And Killer B who only became known due to his efforts in the last war. And he too is close with the Raikage offering him protection as well.’

‘One would think that if Naruto isn’t getting the same amount of protection he must not be the jinchuuriki.’ Shikaku takes over once again. ‘Not telling Naruto would mean he doesn’t start spouting about it to someone.’

Sakura blinks. ‘That makes a certain amount of sense.’

‘Reverse psychology.’ Ino points out. She’s heard plenty about that before. It’s a great technique for getting free candy.

‘That’s correct.’

‘Dad…’ Naruto begins. Minato waits expectantly. Before Naruto punches him right in the gut.

‘Go Naruto!’ Lee cheers him on. He’s always ready to watch another fight.

‘Why did he do that?’ Hiashi doesn’t understand kids sometimes.

‘I guess we find out.’

Naruto is crying. ‘Why did you seal the Kyuubi inside your own son?’ Naruto’s voice breaks. ‘Do you know what I went through because of that?’ His crying continues. ‘All the grown-ups looked at me with contempt and I couldn’t make any friends. I wanted people to accept me, so I trained really hard to become strong. Then I met Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, and pervy sage… And I was happy because they helped make me stronger! But because of that, a group called the Akatsuki came after me, so I had to train even more. I got to be even stronger, but the Akatsuki still killed my friends. But… huh?’ Naruto stops for a second. ‘What am I saying?’ Naruto grabs his head, trying to reorganize his thoughts. ‘Damn it, am I supposed to be happy or mad? I don’t know anymore.’ His crying gets louder and he’s not able to suppress it anymore.

‘Wow. That’s a sad rant.’ Shikamaru says. He doesn’t quite know how to think about this situation. Sure, he has suspected this for quite sometimes now. How could he not. They look like each other enough for anyone to make the connection. But this seems a little… strange.

‘I do get why he’s angry though.’ Chouji takes another bite of his chips. It’s very entertaining.

‘Naruto… how old are you now?’ Minato asks, there is a small smile on his face.

‘Sixteen.’

‘A clue for the timeline.’

‘You’re already sixteen years old, huh?’ Minato takes it in for a second. ‘It must have been hard for you… I’m sorry Naruto.’ Naruto is still crying in front of him. ‘I suppose after putting my own son through so much… I have no right to act like a father and apologize.’

‘He’s right. That’s not great parenting.’ Shisui states.

Sakura looks at the teen. ‘That’s not very nice to say.’

‘Dead parents are not good parents. Even if they really wanted the best or couldn’t for some reason. They haven’t been around Naruto, that’s not good parenting.’ He knows. His parent is shit and his other parent is dead. AKA shitty parents.

‘But they would have been great parents if they were alive.’ Sakura continues to push.

‘But they’re not.’

In the end Naruto is the one to put a stop to this argument. ‘I don’t care. They cared about me, that’s what really matters.’ The rest is silent. They could understand were he’s coming from.

Naruto wipes his eyes. ‘It’s alright… already. I’m the son of the fourth Hokage so I can handle it.’ Naruto pouts.

Minato smiles. ‘I sealed half of the Kyuubi’s chakra inside of you, because I believed you could control its power. Because you are my son.’ He smiles at Naruto.

‘He might be able to.’ Shino agrees with the man on the screen. Even if that guy is dead.

‘The Kyuubi did seem to like him.’ Kiba agrees with his friend.

‘Maybe that happened after this though.’ Tenten interrupts. It would be strange for that to have happened before all of this. Since the monster looked all scary and stuff.

‘I have a feeling that it did.’ Sasuke agrees.

Naruto’s eyes widen. He must have realized something.

‘And there is a reason why I did this. When the Kyuubi attacked the village sixteen years ago, I learned something.’ He turns back into being all serious.

Everyone’s eyes are on the screen. What they could learn could be the explanation they’ve been wanting for years. ‘Do we get to learn the truth?’

‘That would help us out a lot.’ Itachi stares at the screen. He was very young when it happened but a part of him blames himself for not doing something. For not being there for most of it. It’s stupid, he knows, but he can’t help himself.

‘What?’

‘There was a mastermind who manipulated the Kyuubi to attack the village.’ There is an eerie sound playing the background. It really intensifies what they are watching.

‘That confirms it.’ Shikaku puts his hands on the desk. They’ve been theorizing for years and here it is. The explanation they’ve been wanting.

Hiashi’s eyes are narrowed. ‘You Uchiha’s weren’t up to something?’

‘We were busy evacuating people. We had nothing to do with.’ Fugaku states. No emotion in his voice to indicate that he is offended by the statement. Even if they are the only people known to have the ability to control the beast.

‘As a collective at least.’ Hiashi agrees. He knows the clan wouldn’t have done such a thing. They would’ve planned it differently. ‘They’re could be rogue.’

‘Do not say such things about my family.’ Fugaku glares at his rival. They never were on such good terms. Only getting along because they need to. And to protect their bloodlines from those nasty elders.

‘Mastermind?’ Naruto never even once considered that option.

‘A powerful ninja at that. It would require a special kind of power to go up against such an opponent. I believe he will attack our village again.’ Naruto doesn’t respond immediately. He has to take in this new information.

Naruto doesn’t seem all that happy. ‘The Leaf village has already been destroyed.’

‘What?’ The kids gasp. They would’ve never imagined that such a thing was possible. The older ones are a bit silent. They did not expect that either. It’s possible but for one to have such powers. That’s just terrifying.

‘When? How?’ Naruto shouts.

‘Yes… I watched from inside you.’

‘You watched?’ Naruto is a little shocked.

‘I know about Jiraiya-sensei too.’ Naruto doesn’t quite know how to react. Only that he has to ask a question.

‘Does that mean he’s dead?’ Lee asks. It’s not the news he wanted to hear. The man was really funny, and they could make fun of him for literally everything.

‘I fear it is.’ The hokage sighs.

‘Then was it Pain who used the Kyuubi to attack the village before?’ Naruto has to know. It would explain so much if it was. Sadly, that’s not the case.

‘That orange dude is named Pain?’ Kiba laughs. It’s the stupidest name he’s ever heard.

‘Just imagine. New parents with a newborn and what do they name their kid: Pain. Very creative.’ Shisui laughs with him. He’s heard some strange names over the years, his own included. But Pain, poor kid.

‘I have a feeling it’s a name he gave himself.’ Itachi says to his friend. Shisui stops laughing and starts snickering instead.

‘No, it wasn’t him.’ Minato shakes his head.

‘Well shit.’ Kakashi says. Just after he ends the sentence Iruka hits him on the head.

‘Someone else. More powerful than that we’ve seen…’ A shudder courses through their veins. This fragment is filled to the brim with bad news.

‘Then who was it?’ Naruto narrows his eyes.

Minato seems a little hesitant to answer. ‘One of the Akatsuki, the one with the mask.’

‘Mask?’ Sasuke thinks about all the Akatsuki people they’ve seen before. No one with a mask comes to mind, except for maybe that Kakuzu guy, but that was a different kind of mask.

‘We haven’t seen that guy before.’ Naruto agrees with his friend. How many more of these scary people are there.

Naruto’s eyes widen as he remembers the figure from one of the previous encounters he had with the group. The man looks to be wearing an orange spiral mask with one eye hole, only showing his right eye.

‘That man.’ Itachi watches the screen in shock. The group turns to look at him.

‘You know him Itachi?’ Shisui asks his friend.

‘He killed one of my genin teammates back in team 2.’ He states softy. It’s what’s awakened his sharingan, of course he won’t forget.

‘Why?’

Itachi shakes his head. ‘No clue.’

‘And yet you joined him in the future.’ Shikaku mutters. There is something going on there and he doesn’t like it.

‘Maybe he was brainwashed?’ Inoichi suggests to his friend. He’s seen the effects before.

‘I hope that’s it.’ It doesn’t sound quite right but anything else he can come up with is worse, so it better be that. Not that it’s a good thing.

‘Back then he read through every action I took. He’s no ordinary ninja.’ Minato turns back to Naruto. ‘This man is probably just using Pain.’

‘No! Pain had a grudge against the hidden Leaf! He said, long ago his own village was wiped out like ours!’ Naruto shouts at his father.

‘Does that ring any bells?’ Shisui looks to the adults in the room. It would be useful to write such a thing down.

‘I am saddened to say we destroyed plenty of lands during the years. It would be impossible to pinpoint a place.’ The Hokage explains. Shisui puts his pen down. So that’s a dead end.

‘That’s right. Because of that hatred he’s being used.’

‘Used? Someone strong like him?’ Naruto doesn’t know what to do with that information. ‘And what about this mastermind masked ninja? Why is everyone attacking the Leaf?’

‘Perhaps as long as there is a ninja system in this world, there can be now peace.’ Naruto looks down. ‘Pain questioned you about peace, but finding the answer is difficult.’

‘Deep.’ Kiba looks at the screen. He’s never thought about something that hard before.

Jiraiya puts his hand on his chin. ‘Peace. I wrote a book about that once.’

‘Not one of those ones, right?’ Mikoto glares the man down. Jiraiya laughs.

‘No! It was my first book. Inspired by one of my students.’ He takes an old book from his pocket. ‘I’ve mentioned him before. The one with the rinnegan.’

‘Which this Pain dude also has.’ Shikaku says. Jiraiya flinches visibly.

‘Yahiko and Nagato were close. I can’t think of anything that might have happened to them. They used to be so sweet.’ Jiraiya remembers their smiles as he thought them all kinds of stuff.

‘You think it’s that Yahiko?’ Naruto points to the screen.

Jiraiya puts the book back in his pocket. ‘All the hints point in that direction. It pains me to say.’

Naruto remembers during the previous fight that the man asked him questions like: ‘How would you confront this hatred, in order to create peace?’ And also, that he didn’t quite know the answer yet.

‘In order to save something dear wars are waged.’ Hinata is shown attacking Pain. ‘As long as there is love, there will be hate.’ Hinata is shown being defeated and killed. ‘And some will take advantage of that hatred. This monster known as hate will not die while there is a system of ninja. It will give birth to more Pains.’

‘Hinata.’ Hiashi takes a breath. This is not what he wanted to see, ever. His daughter apparently died. Damn it!

‘Shit.’ Iruka curses. He doesn’t hold himself back. ‘I hoped we wouldn’t see one of them dying.’

Sakura turns to look at the girl in question. She’s shaking and crying really softly, to not cause a scene. She walks over and spreads her arms. ‘Hinata give me a hug.’ The girl stands up and buries herself in Sakura’s arms.

Naruto has to take this all in, and he doesn’t say a word.

‘It was Pain who killed Jiraiya-sensei, but upon that thought, it can be said that the chaotic world of the ninja, which gave rise to Pain is equally guilty. To be a ninja is to confront that hatred. Each and every one of us battles hatred. Jiraiya-sensei trusted you to find a way to end this hatred.’

‘Like I said deep.’ Kiba points out once again.

Chouji agrees. ‘It’s like being dead gave him infinite wisdom or something.’

Sasuke snickers. ‘I suppose that after being inside Naruto for so long there is got to be some revolutionary ideas.’

Naruto turns to look at him within a second. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘Still I can’t forgive Pain!’ Naruto wavers, there is a certain amount of uncertainty inside of him. ‘There’s no way I can forgive him.’

‘I know.’

‘From what little we’ve seen I have to agree with Naruto.’ Kakashi agrees. This time there is a different book in his hands. One not as dirty. Only to safe himself from the wrath of mothers.

‘Me too.’

‘Tell me! What should I do?’ Naruto pleads. There is desperation in his eyes.

‘You must find the answer yourself. I do not have the answer.’

‘Ah yes, very helpful.’ Shino, the king of sass, mutters.

‘He was asking for a reason you know. He could just say ‘I don’t know either’ and be done with it.’ Shisui shouts at the screen.

‘But that doesn’t sound cool.’ Naruto argues back.

Shikamaru leans back in his seat. ‘Sometimes we got to forget our pride and admit we don’t know things.’

‘You don’t get to say that.’

‘If pervy sage and you don’t know the answer, how am I to know?’ Naruto shouts. ‘Everyone expects too much! I’m not smart! And I’m not a great ninja! And.’ Then a hand lands on top of his head. It’s reassuring.

‘From what we’ve seen I have to disagree with that last statement.’ Hiashi states. It seems the guy really did care about Hinata. And while it might not have become a thing he does give the guy a chance. Of course, they are going to safe his daughter in this timeline.

‘I know you’ll find the answer.’ Minato smiles at his son. ‘I have faith in you.’ They stare at each other intently and Naruto realizes something.

‘Do you really believe I can do it?’ His voice is soft.

‘A part of me does and another doesn’t. I mean it’s Naruto we’re talking about.’ Sasuke smirks at the boy in question. Naruto gives him a shove.

‘On which side are you?’

Sasuke shrugs. ‘I have no idea.’

‘To be a parent is to have undying faith in one’s child.’ He removes his hand from Naruto’s head. ‘Now then… It’s time for me to go. My chakra is fading.’ He shows his hand that’s slowly disappearing.

‘It’s already over!’ Naruto screams. He wants to see his father a bit longer. He wants to learn more about him and makes jokes with him. And do other things other kids to with their parents.

‘No fair!’ Sasuke shouts as well.

‘Huh? No wait…’ Naruto stutters out.

‘I will rebuild the seal.’ He puts his hand on Naruto’s still ink leaking stomach. ‘However, this will be for the last time.’ Naruto’s seal tightens up again and Naruto nearly falls to the ground. ‘The Leaf can be rebuilt. I’m counting on you, Naruto!’ then he slowly fades to white.

‘Heck yeah. Go kick some ass!’ Sakura shouts in the room. The group turns to look at her at which she starts blushing like crazy.

Itachi blinks. ‘That girl has a voice.’

Naruto looks at the screen determined. Thanks Dad!

Then the scene ends.

‘That was certainly helpful.’ Shikaku mutters. He’s glad that they’ve finally got some lead as to what exactly happens in the future.

‘We got to know the mastermind!’ Naruto cheers.

Hiashi nods. ‘The masked man. No one except Itachi has ever seen him before.’

‘And Naruto.’ Shisui points out. They all look at him. ‘But he was a baby so that doesn’t really count.’

Chouza swallows another bite before talking. ‘Not to mention that Pain guy. We only saw him use one attack and it caused that much devastation. What else could someone like that do?’

‘How is there someone stronger than him controlling him?’ Kakashi fills in. There is something about that man he doesn’t quite like. Maybe it’s because he indirectly killed his second family.

‘That’s what’s truly terrifying.’ Iruka nods along. To be honest he never really thought about a mastermind behind the incident because to him it’s always been the fox. But there might be more to it.

‘I think we can at least assume that these are the higher ups within the Akatsuki.’ Shikaku points out. None of the others seem that much involved with the leadership. Deidara and Sasori are obviously not in charge, Itachi and Kisame don’t quite look the part either, Hidan and Kakuzu are slightly different. Kakuzu might have a hand in things but Hidan definitively doesn’t.

‘I agree. They seem like the people in charge of such an organization.’ Hiruzen adds to the group.

‘There’s also still the question what they’ve got to do with Itachi. It’s not like that masked guy has a good reputation with him.’ Shisui points out. Itachi nods along like always. He doesn’t like that masked man.

Tsume agrees. ‘That’s worrying as well.’

‘At least we got a hint to who caused that attack six years ago.’ Jiraiya tries to lighten the mood once again but to no avail.

‘Because a masked individual doesn’t tell us much.’ Kakashi glares at the man.

‘We got to keep our eyes open for someone like that.’

Notes:

Crossdressing boy -> mystery man

Madara (with rinnegan) & dead Hokage are alive
Hokage revived by Sasuke and Orochimaru and the gang.

Madara and Hashirama met as children (the idiots)
Madara can’t pee with someone behind him -> weakness

Red cloud organization Akatsuki
Members: - Deidara
- Sasori
- Itachi ???
- Kisame
- Hidan
- Kakuzu
- Pain
- Masked man
Captured a random dude with red hair Gaara (Naruto cares about that guy)
Killed Yugito
Goal: possibly collecting bijuu -> might have to do with Juubi
Hidan can kill once he gets your blood. He licks it, makes a circle and connects his body with yours, then he’s able to stab himself and kill you.
- Can be killed by blowing him into pieces and burying him under ground

Kakuzu has five hearts, of all chakra natures, when one dies another can take its place
- All hearts have to be destroyed for him to die

Use deadly combination attacks

Pain destroys the leaf village
The masked man is responsible for the nine tails attack and is likely the mastermind of the Akatsuki

Mizuki is evil

Kakashi’s real face is still a mystery :(
Kakashi is teacher of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura

Weird socially inept boy is part of Naruto’s team as well as Tenzo (he’s rude)

Sasuke might have a thing for Naruto and vice versa

Kakashi and Sasuke are missing at some point in the future (but still alive)
Sasuke runs away to Orochimaru

People to watch out for:

- Madara
- Sakura (don’t piss her off, don’t forget)
- Red cloud people
- Flying lady
- Gaara

Itachi killed of the entire Uchiha clan, except himself and Sasuke. (Where am I?)

Two brothers were fishing before chakra was a widespread thing.

Strong people are weak against naked people of the preferred gender. (Naruto takes advantage of that)

Sasuke has the mangekyo and rinnegan?
Naruto is glowing
Sakura has a thing on her forehead
Kakashi has two normal eyes
Strange half white dude?

Goddess flying with black creature thing in her arms (has byakugan, and a third eye on her forehead) (according to Kakashi a god)
Possible ancestor to the Hyuuga and Kaguya

The Kyuubi kind of likes Naruto

Ibiki is troll

Hinata and Naruto are so going to get married and have children. Don’t let Hiashi convince you otherwise. RIP Hinata

Bijuu and Jinchuuriki
One Gaara
Two Yugito
Three Mizukage 4
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight b
Nine Naruto

Tsunade is the fifth hokage (the first doesn’t like that, because of gambling addictions)

The third died during something in which he sealed away Orochimaru’s arms and the first hokage. They all end up in the Shinigami belly

Kimimaro is a Kaguya and dangerous

Jiraiya teaches Naruto water walking
Ebisu is a pervert

Naruto’s chakra can easily be disrupted

Naruto encountered Orochimaru sometime.

Naruto is the son of the fourth

Itachi’s attempt at a timeline

Ashura and his brother

Hashirama and Madara meet river

Kurama’s first sealing

Kurama’s second sealing

Obito’s death

Kurama’s third sealing

Uchiha massacre

Naruto learns about the Kyuubi

Naruto and Sasuke kiss

Around the same time (no discerning timeframe available)
- Crossdressing boy
- Kakashi’s mask
- Kisame and I come to get Naruto
- Lee Gaara fight and the rest of the chunin exams
- Fight Kimimaro (after chunin exams)

Another set of around the same time
- Deidara and Sasori capture Gaara
- Orochimaru unlocks the reaper death seal
- Naruto promises Kurama to save him from his hate
- Emotionless boy insulting Naruto and Sakura
- Sakura and Naruto face off against Kakashi
- Hidan Kakuzu kill Yugito
- Hidan ‘dies’
- Pain attacks the leaf village

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, and mystery man fight a flying lady

No time frames

‘What’s next?’ Naruto is bouncing in his seat. Maybe the next one will tell him who his mother is.

‘I hope something epic like before.’ Lee cheers. He likes to see a good fight and would love to watch another.

Chouji isn’t feeling it however. ‘I have a feeling it’s not going to be as helpful as we want it to be.’

The screen lights up. ‘Tobi or not Tobi, that’s the question.’ reads the screen.

Naruto tilts his head. ‘What does that mean?’

‘A part of me thinks it’s a reference but I wouldn’t know to what.’ Itachi goes over his mental library of book but it come out blank.

Chapter Text

The scene starts with two figures walking in the distance. They are both wearing the Akatsuki cloaks. They’re walking along a path with the birds tweeting in the distance.

‘Who are they?’ Lee points to the screen. The people aren’t that visible yet, so he can’t quite figure out who they are.

‘That one has blond hair, so I think it’s Deidara.’ Neji responds.

Then a close up appears. It’s Deidara and the mysterious masked man. Someone starts speaking and since they can’t see lips moving they assume it’s the masked man. ‘Oh senpai! There’s a dango shop over there!’ the man cheerfully spouts. He’s twirling around like an idiot. ‘Let’s take a break. We’ve been walking all day. I’m exhausted.’ The man swings his arms like a child before running off toward the shop.

Shisui blinks. ‘Uh… that’s not what I expected of someone deemed dangerous by the fourth.’

‘At least he appears in this fragment.’ Hiashi responds. He’s not quite impressed with the man but then again, they haven’t seen him fight yet.

‘Why does he act so stupid though?’ Sasuke grumbles as he slinks further into his seat. The way the man acts is annoying. Is he able to kill enemies with annoyance or something?

The senpai, Deidara, doesn’t quite believe him. ‘You don’t look exhausted at all.’ He grumps but begrudgingly follows anyway.

Kiba snickers. ‘Poor Deidara.’

‘He looks so done with the guy.’ Chouji nods along but he snickers a little bit as well.

Sasuke still doesn’t have the answer to his question so he asks again. ‘But is that really how he is or is it just an act.’

Itachi thinks for a second. ‘I think we can safely say it’s an act.’

He takes a seat next to his partner. ‘Why are you so easygoing?’ Deidara asks the masked man.

‘But Senpai, we’re trying to catch a tailed beast, yet we don’t even know where it is. So, let’s just take it easy.’ And he leans back in his seat. ‘By the way, what are we going to catch again?’

‘At least we know what they’re doing.’ Fugaku says. Not like it’s a complete surprise, it is their goal. At least they’re not going out of their way to attack someone specific.

Itachi nods. ‘Eating dango.’

‘The Three Tails!’ Deidara shouts at his partner. Not quite amused with his antics.

‘Sanbi. It should be with the Mizukage.’ Shikaku narrows his eyes. They are multiple things that could have happened. But the one most likely…

‘Unless that guy finally got assassinated.’ Inoichi says. The Mizukage isn’t known to be the kindest person. There is a civil war going on because of him.

The Hokage agrees. ‘That would not be too much of a stretch, I’m afraid to say.’

‘Ichibi, Niibi… I’m Tobi!’ The man points to himself with his thumb acting like he’s discovered a way to travel through time.

‘Wow.’ Shikamaru blinks, it’s so obvious now. ‘Could that be a hint at the whole Juubi thing?’

Sasuke shrugs. ‘Who knows?’

A close up shot of Deidara’s narrowed eye appears. It’s explains the mood well enough.

Then an elderly lady walks up from behind them. ‘Here’s the dango for you.’ And she puts the plate in between the two.

‘Are they going to pay? I mean they are criminals, right?’ Naruto asks. He didn’t see them take out any money. And criminal act all cool and don’t have to pay, right?

‘They would have paid already, I assume.’ Shino responds. There are some shops that you have to pay before getting your food. In others you can pay after. They have no information to know which it is in this case.

‘Wow! It looks yummy!’ Tobi applauds the lady. ‘Let’s see…’ He picks up one of the sticks and raises it toward his mouth.

Deidara looks up. Realizing that he’s about to see his partners face.

‘This feels familiar.’ Neji narrows his eyes. He remembers this feeling from one of the previous scenes they’ve watched.

‘This has the same energy as when Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were trying to see under Kakashi’s mask.’ Lee agrees with a smile on his face. That fragment was funny. It brings a smile to his face.

‘Do we get to see his face though?’ Hinata asks. She piped up a little since the last scene. They are going to do their best to prevent her death, she’s sure of it.

‘I highly doubt it.’

‘Thanks for the food.’ Tobi grabs his mask and raises it just a bit. Deidara stares intently. The mask raises even higher. And Deidara gets even more focused.

Then Tobi turns away and puts the thing in his mouth at the speed of light. ‘Man, it’s so good! This sauce is really good.’

Jiraiya breaks out in laughter. ‘It’s exactly like Kakashi.’

‘Dango.’ Itachi stares at the screen with a wanting look in his eyes.

Shisui winces away from the boy. ‘Itachi. Stop drooling on my arm.’ As soon as he said it Itachi wipes away the drool on his face and straightens himself. It’s a little embarrassing.

Chouza points to the table. ‘There is some dango on the table if you want.’

Itachi stands up and walks over to the table and about a minute later comes back with a plate full of dango. As soon as he sits his mother takes three sticks away from him. He did take quite a lot.

Deidara is not amused.

‘Poor Deidara.’ Sakura mutters. She has no doubts that her future self feels the same. They did try to see under Kakashi’s mask as well.

‘I wonder why Tobi calls him senpai?’ Ino asks out loud. It could be a weird kink the guy has. They could be a couple, but she doesn’t quite feel it.

‘He’s for sure older than Deidara.’ Tenten agrees with her. Ino looks over, that’s not quite what she meant.

‘It’s not too sweet, nor too salty. It’s a masterpiece.’ Tobi continues to ramble on.

Deidara only keeps staring and begrudgingly puts his own treat in the mouth.

‘Does he wear eyeliner?’ Ino asks all of a sudden. The group turns to look at her. What does she mean by that?

‘What?’

Ino points to his eyes. ‘Around his eyes there is a black line.’

‘Could be a fashion statement. I doubt it’s significant.’ Iruka responds. Ninja aren’t known for their fashion sense. I mean there is Gai waltzing around in a green jumpsuit with orange legwarmers. That’s worse than Naruto.

Then Tobi turns back around with his mask back on. ‘Ah, it was great.’ The dango has completely disappeared from the stick. ‘Oh, Senpai, Senpai. Look at that!’ The man uses his stick to point to something.

‘Huh?’ Deidara turns around to look. It’s a clay piece that’s shaped like a pig.

‘What’s wrong with it?’ Naruto tilts his head to the side. He doesn’t get an answer.

‘That looks exactly like your work, doesn’t it?’ Tobi waves his stick at the object. Deidara stares with no comment. ‘Could it be that your work is… a rip off?’

‘His work? Does he make clay pieces or something?’ Sasuke wonders out loud. He’s tried working with clay once. It didn’t end well. At least not for the tulips in mother’s garden.

‘We don’t know a lot about him. So, maybe.’ Shikamaru explains. He would love to learn a bit more about these people, but Number doesn’t seem to want to give them the answers yet.

Deidara’s face darkens in a way they haven’t seen before. ‘You!’

‘He’s angry.’ Naruto laughs. This is about to be funny. He knows it.

‘We can all see that.’ Sasuke stares him down. Naruto responds with his very own glare.

‘Eh.’ Tobi winces and promptly starts running of at the speed of light.

‘I’m going to kill you!’ Deidara shouts. And an explosion goes off in the distance, letting Tobi fly a thousand miles away.’

‘Explosion? Doesn’t Iwa have the explosion corps?’ Itachi asks. He’s heard a little about something like that, but he never encountered any of them.

‘That is correct. He could be a former member.’ The Hokage explains.

‘When do you think that takes place?’ Itachi asks the group once everyone settled down again. He doesn’t quite know when to place it on his timeline. Maybe someone could give some input that would help him out.

‘That’s a good question.’ Tsume responds.

‘I think after the previous one with Deidara.’ Shikamaru explains. The adults didn’t expect a kid to give them the answer but he’s a Nara, so… ‘It just seems unlikely for the boss of an organization to go in the field instead of another member.’

‘I have to agree. It’s likely that something must have happened to Sasori.’ Kakashi says. He looks over at Itachi’s notes and points his finger where he would place this.

‘Did he die?’ One of the kids asks. They don’t quite know who asked. And they don’t have an answer either.

‘Who knows.’

‘But is that really the man we have to be scared of?’ Sakura begins as she remembers how he acted. ‘He acts so weird.’

Ino leans back into her seat. ‘I have no idea.’ She didn’t really think of him as impressive either.

In the end it’s Shikaku that interrupts. ‘I think it’s very likely that it’s an act to fool others.’

‘To make people under estimate him.’ Shisui nods along. He already noted that down in his notes.

‘Or to divert the attention of him.’ Shikaku explains further but he only gets some confused faces in return. It’s not that surprising.

Chouza blinks. ‘He seems to be attracting quite a bit attention if you ask me.’

‘But not the kind you would give a boss.’ Shikaku starts explaining in detail. ‘Judging by the way Naruto reacted to when the fourth gave him the information he knows who it is but didn’t assume that he could be the one behind it.’

It’s quiet for a second. ‘I guess that makes sense.’

Then Naruto turns to the screen once again. ‘So, what’s up next?’ He wants to see himself being awesome! Like fighting big baddies. They didn’t really see him do that, if you exclude the goddess thingy, but that wasn’t really fighting either. Number better show him something cool to watch.

The screen lights up and the words: ‘number 0: the fool’ appear on it. The group looks at it but is unable to draw any conclusions.

‘What could that mean?’ Naruto blinks. This does not sound familiar at all.

Sasuke shrugs and taps his fingers on the desk. This doesn’t sound like that good of a scene. ‘I have no idea.’

‘I feel that it’s referencing something we don’t know anything about.’ Something inside Iruka is telling him that’s it’s familiar. Maybe it’s a foreign thing that he forgot about. That could be it.

‘I guess we’ll see then.’

The scene starts with a shot of the rock face of the fourth Hokage. Sensei… They say I am going to be the next Hokage. Kakashi thinks to himself. Then he gets pushed from the back by a hand from a green sleeve.

‘Wait what?’ Most people in the group had to do a double take. Did they just hear that right?

‘Kakashi? Hokage?’ Itachi looks over at the man in question. He can’t quite see that.

‘Are they serious?’ Jiraiya blinks. It seems that the Hokage position is carried down from teacher to student. Which puts Naruto, who is the student of Kakashi, who is the only remaining student of the fourth, in the perfect position to inherit the position. I don’t think it was the original plan though, for the Hokage to end up being students of the previous ones.

‘That’s a little rude.’ Kakashi points out. He doesn’t disagree with them, but they don’t have to be so rude about it.

Shisui pats him on the back. ‘Let’s be real here, you don’t think you can handle it either.’

‘I mean… You’re not wrong but you should think a little better of me.’ Kakashi says to him.

‘We’ll do when you actually arrive on time.’ The group bursts out laughing. Kakashi slumps down in his seat grumbling something about underappreciative people but continues watching all the same.

‘Yo! Kakashi!’ It’s Gai. He puts an arm around his friend. ‘Looks like you got home safely.’ They are surrounding by wooden buildings without color. Gai starts patting his friend all over. ‘How are you?’ He picks up one of Kakashi’s legs. ‘You weren’t injured, were you?’ And finally touches his hair.

‘What’s wrong with the village?’ Kiba asks. All the buildings look the same, which is strange because they don’t.

‘You mean what’s wrong with Gai.’ Neji corrects as he watches his future teacher’s behavior. It disturbs him slightly.

Kakashi starts laughing. ‘No that’s him being normal.’

Hinata has to agree with Kiba however. ‘I wonder what happened.’ She watches with concern. The village looks so strange without its color.

‘Oh, I’m fine.’ Kakashi grumbles out as he stumbles forward.

‘You sure?’

‘Okay, in that case… It’s been a while, so why don’t we have a match?’ And Gai does his nice guy pose.

Kakashi stares at him blankly before tilting his head just slightly. ‘Why?’

‘Is that how you react every time?’ Tsume asks the young man.

Kakashi smiles from under his mask. ‘Sure. Let’s go with that.’

That makes a couple other people narrow their eyes. With Hiashi speaking up. ‘What else do you do?’

Kakashi keeps the smile on his face. ‘There are children here.’

‘That’s ominous.’ Shisui gets a shudder all over his body. A part of him doesn’t want to know what Kakashi is referring to. While the other part, his curiosity, definitively does.

‘Why? What do you mean? Because you and I are eternal rivals, that’s why!’ While talking Gai grabs Kakashi’s hand and shakes it like crazy. ‘We’ve had over 100 matches up till now. Let’s add another one!’ The wind blowing past makes Gai look like a weird looking model.

‘How? How can someone like that exist?’ Mikoto watches. She’s heard of Gai, and she heard him, who doesn’t, he screams the whole village awake every morning, but still. He’s strange.

The Hokage shakes his head. ‘Unfortunate circumstances.’ He remembers the man’s father well enough to know it’s probably something genetic. But then again, Lee got it too? Genetic predisposition?

Kakashi puts forward his fist. ‘In that case…’ Gai readies himself.

‘No using the sharingan now.’ He stretches his arms before he starts moving his butt. To make matters worse Kakashi joins in as well.

‘What are they doing?’ Shino watches the screen with a blank look. But everyone that knows him well enough knows that he’s actually a little disturbed.

‘Uh… I have no idea?’ Sasuke as well is a little disturbed. These are adults… aren’t they supposed to be all serious and stuff?

‘Rock, paper, scissors!’ They say simultaneously while still doing the strange movements they did before.

‘This is just weird.’ Even Naruto is taken aback. And he thought Kakashi was pretty cool first.

‘I never pegged you as the person before, Kakashi.’ Iruka tells the man next to him.

Kakashi starts smiling again. ‘There’s a lot you don’t know about me.’

Shisui feels the shudder once again. ‘Again, being ominous.’

‘No!’ Gai interrupts. ‘Not that! I don’t want Rock Paper Scissors!’ Gai moves toward the camera.

Kakashi stares ahead with his fist still in the air.

‘He doesn’t change facial expressions, but he still looks disappointed.’ Sakura observes. Kakashi got to be the strangest person she ever met. And that list includes her baby sitter.

‘Isn’t that his standard expression?’ Ino laughs. Sakura takes a second but then starts laughing as well. Kakashi just looks at the little girls laughing at him. Rude.

‘Our challenge will be… that!’ Gai points to the Hokage monument in the distance. There are five faces on the monument, Tsunade’s being the fifth. There are also layers of scaffolding next to her head as if they were going to carve out a sixth. ‘I’ve set up a goal up there. We’ll race to there.’

‘This is not the time for…’

‘Why not?’ Kiba interrupts. They didn’t look like they were doing anything important.

‘There could be something else they would have to do.’ Tenten suggests. She doesn’t know either, but she does know that ninjas are always busy with something. That’s why her parents are never home.

‘That’s exactly why I want to have a hot challenge.’ Gai argues back. ‘You’ll accept it, won’t you, my eternal rival?’

Kakashi nods. ‘You’re right. No time like the present I guess.’ Kakashi looks at the goal. He can do it.

‘Wow he’s excited.’ Jiraiya laughs.

Inoichi has to do a double take. ‘Doesn’t look like that to me.’ To him Kakashi just looks really bored. Like he always does.

‘I’m not going to lose to Gai.’ Kakashi says with all the determination he’s able to pick up.

‘Alright then. Let’s go.’ They make a sign of acceptance before making off.

Next up is a shot of the village from the gate. ‘You want to start at the edge of the village?’ Kakashi asks his friend. The devastation from a previous attack is obvious. There is a large hole in the center of the village.

‘Holy shit!’ A group of people scream out. What they just saw was something they never expected to see. Never even imagined. A giant hole in the center of the village. That’s crazy.

‘Could this be the destruction Naruto mentioned?’ Sakura asks. There is no other incident that comes to mind that could have caused that much destruction, at least from what they know so far.

‘It does seem likely.’ Neji responds. Even he, with his serious act, is a little surprised with the destruction. So many people would’ve died there. He doesn’t even want to think about it.

Sasuke shivers and looks at the screen with wide eyes. ‘What in the world could blow a hole like that in the center of the village?’

‘That Pain guy seemed pretty capable to me.’ Shikamaru responds. It’s the only person they’ve seen so far that even comes close to the power that takes, with the ten tails being the exception, but that didn’t seem to be happening anywhere near the leaf village.

‘Scary.’ Naruto stares at the screen. He’ll prevent this from happening again.

‘I want to enjoy this challenge to the fullest.’ Gai argues as he picks up a rock. ‘Are you ready?’

‘Any time.’ Then Gai launches the rock into the air. And as soon as the rock lands on the ground they take off.

‘I have a feeling this is not going to be serious in the slightest.’ Tenten puts her head in her arms. The best they’re going to get are some good laughs.

‘Don’t count on it.’ Lee agrees with her.

They run at a high speed, one not faster than the other. Until they eventually reach the hole in the center of the village. They jump down and start making a bunch of weird noises. Grunts and screams that don’t quite belong to proper ninja leave their mouths.

‘I’m losing the respect I had for Kakashi with the speed they’re going down.’ Shisui stares at the screen. Kakashi, always composed, acting like clown. That just doesn’t sound right.

‘You had respect for him?’ Fugaku stares at the teen. He lost all respect he had for the boy when he came back with the sharingan. Damn thief.

‘I mean he did do pretty awesome stuff.’ Shisui explains.

Kakashi smiles, now he can bring up how awesome he is. ‘Cutting lighting and other things.’

‘That’s cool.’ The kids agree. The smile on Kakashi’s face widens.

They land and starts to speed up against the steepness of the hole. They are going so fast their bodies can barely keep up. They make some not so attractive faces while doing so.

‘And to think we thought Kakashi might actually be attractive.’ Tsume’s face morphs into one of disgust. That kid needs some therapy.

‘He could still be.’ Ino argues back. She’s still betting on the most gorgeous face they’ve ever seen.

Tsume’s nose raises in the air. ‘I’m not counting on it. I mean, he wears the mask for a reason.’

Kakashi glares at her. ‘And that’s not it. What is it? Bully Kakashi day.’

‘You made fun of me just fine as well.’ Jiraiya screams at the man, but he gets ignored in return.

Then they reach a second hole within the first one, it’s clear that they’ve started to rebuild the village there as the whole place is still covered in scaffolding. They jump off the ledge up high into the air. Then the resistance in the air slows then down quite a bit.

‘Another hole?’ Sasuke tilts his head to the side. Why would they add another hole? That doesn’t make any sense.

Chouji agrees with him. ‘Why though? The village was already destroyed.’

‘I hope we find out.’

Gai has to do a backflip to regain his balance and as soon as he’s up again he’s hit with a ladle. He looks over at Kakashi who’s now holding a hammer and cooking pan, while making strange movements in the air.

‘What?’ Sakura doesn’t know what to think anymore. Like where did those things come from?

Iruka looks at the man next to him. ‘Kakashi seriously?’

‘What about it?’ Kakashi smiles. It’s always the best feeling when he one ups someone. That exciting rush of tingles along his body. Even better when they get angry.

‘When did you get those things?’ Gai asks his friend.

‘Oh, before we started. From a pile of rubble.’ Kakashi responds blankly.

Itachi face scrunches up. ‘Where did you keep them?’

‘Infinite pockets.’ Kakashi pats the sides of his pants. And the group just watches him.

Eventually it’s Shisui that asks. ‘Those things exist?’

‘Seals are funny things.’ Kakashi responds. But it’s not the answer they are looking for.

‘They are my favorite animal.’ Tenten yells out.

The group turns to look at her. ‘That’s not what we are talking about.’

‘That’s not fair.’ Gai says as he picks up the ladle and launches it at Kakashi. ‘Take that.’

Kakashi uses his cooking pan to launch it right back at him. Gai uses a kick to respond to that. And before they know it they are launching all kinds of items back and forth. Right up until they crash land onto the ground and are send tumbling. Kakashi’s favorite book flies out of his pocket and Gai stumbles along not much later.

‘Graceful.’ Fugaku comments. He’s not going to say anything else. Kakashi doesn’t deserve it.

Hiashi agrees. ‘So childish.’

Kakashi isn’t taking any of their shit however. ‘You old men bicker like children all the time.’ They did not have a response to that. Mikoto only laughs at her husband’s face.

The shot changes to a view of Shikamaru and Chouji. They are eating some chips. Shikamaru is about to put one in his mouth before all of a sudden two people appear above them. It’s Gai and Kakashi. Shikamaru and Chouji watch in shock. Then as soon as they arrived they are off again.

‘They look so stupid.’ Naruto laughs at the boys.

‘At least they’re alive.’ Shikaku mutters, really glad on the inside. He can handle himself dying, does he? But his son, not as long as he’s around. Nope.

‘Hinata…’ Hiashi looks down. It’s saddens him greatly that he loses his eldest daughter. If only he could’ve done something to prevent it.

‘What was that?’ Shikamaru asks with a piece of chips in his mouth.

‘Has something happened?’ Chouji wonders.

‘They don’t know?’ Kiba blinks. He would’ve thought they knew about their antics by now.

Shikamaru shrugs. ‘It’s not my teacher running away.’

‘No, he’s dead already right?’ Naruto asks. He doesn’t know the timeline. Maybe that happened after this incident. He doesn’t know.

‘I have no idea.’

Gai and Kakashi continue their race. A man with building supplies is crossing the path and Gai is forced to slide underneath while Kakashi takes the scenic route and walks over the buildings, right across a lady doing laundry.

‘Kakashi… Don’t disturb the townsfolk.’ The Hokage scolds the man.

Kakashi does look a little sheepish now. ‘I’m sure I apologized.’ Actually, he’s not sure. But he’s got to get his reputation.

They jump on top of the half build buildings and rush off once again.

‘At least the reconstruction seems to be going fine.’ Mikoto comments. There are several others that agree with her.

Gai laughs. ‘With the village being reconstructed, the roads are all different and I can’t tell where we’re going!’ he screams out.

Kakashi responds just as eager. ‘Seems like it!’

‘Sounds kind of annoying.’ Naruto mumbles. He already loses his way around all the time. That would make it way worse.

The next shot is of Kiba, Akamaru, and oh Shino as well working on one of the roofs. Shino looks at something. ‘What’s that?’ Kiba and Akamaru are confused as well.

‘That’s me!’ Kiba yells out. This is the first time he saw himself in action. He looks to be doing fine. Akamaru too.

‘Whoa. Kiba and Shino appear.’ Sasuke points out.

‘Don’t forget Akamaru!’ Kiba yells at the boy. Sasuke shrugs. Akamaru is not a cat, that makes him less special.

Next up it’s Naruto and Sakura walking on one of the roads. They look up and see their teacher as well as Gai running across the roofs.

‘Is that Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei?’ Sakura asks bewildered.

‘They seem to be doing fine too.’ Iruka smiles. At least most of the children managed to live. That takes one weight of his shoulders.

Naruto looks at them. ‘So fast!’

Then Neji and Tenten look up as well. ‘Those two… Don’t tell me they’re at it again?’ Neji grumbles out.

‘Neji and Tenten as well!’ Lee yells. Now he just got to see himself and then everything will be alright.

‘No mistake about it. It’s their rivalry contest.’ Tenten agrees. ‘Gai-sensei probably challenged him. Of all times to do this.’

Neji shakes his head. ‘No, that’s exactly why he challenged him now.’ And Neji smiles, he actually smiles, call the ambulance already.

‘Neji… smiling… I’m sure now. The world is going to end.’ Kiba yells out. The kids around him starts laughing.

Neji grumbles. ‘I can smile just fine.’ He just doesn’t do it.

Kakashi and Gai once again jump right into the air. ‘As expected from my rival!’ Now they’ve reached the other end of the crater and they have to go up. ‘The challenge has just begun!’ Gai shouts as they are running up as fast as they can.

‘Yeah!’ Kakashi screams along.

‘Going uphill is always a pain.’ Shisui complains with his head on the desk. It always makes his muscles ache and hurt and it’s just an overall pain.

‘Because the force of gravity is working against you.’ Itachi explains. Things are better when going downhill because of it.

‘Isn’t it always?’ Shisui mutters.

Itachi blinks. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

Then they reach the cliff of the rock that holds the monument. They start running up rubbing against each other every once in a while. Once they reach the faces they jump across them one by one until they eventually reach the top of the cliff.

‘Please refrain from running on the faces in the future.’ The Hokage scolds Kakashi once again. This time Kakashi just shrugs.

‘Meh.’ He’s not going to keep it in mind.

At the flag pole Lee is doing some push-ups while waiting for his teacher to show up. ‘While Gai-sensei is battling it out, I will fight too!’ Then the ground underneath his hand starts shaking. Gai and Kakashi are almost there.

‘And Lee is doing fine too!’ Naruto cheers. Most of his friends are safe and sound. That means he was able to save them.

Jiraiya nods as well. ‘Now the only unknowns are Hinata, Ino, Tsunade, and Sasuke.’ Mostly girls, but then again Sasuke does look girly enough as well.

‘Didn’t Hinata die in the attack.’ Shisui points out.

‘I willing to bet on the small chance she might have lived.’ Jiraiya explains.

‘Me too!’ Naruto yells out. Hinata looks at her crush. He believes in her. That’s a good thing, right?

As they approach the finish line their faces get stranger and stranger. They reach the finish line in slow-motion.

‘Charming.’ Tsume laughs out. Kakashi glares at her but doesn’t say anything. He too can admit that it looks pretty bad.

‘How can anyone find them attractive when they act like this.’ Sakura stares. Men do have needs, right?

‘Who knows. They might be a thing together.’ Ino suggests with a smile on her face.

Kakashi stares at her blankly. ‘I can assure you that’s not the case.’

‘That’s what you want us to think.’ And Ino gives him a wink. Kakashi is not impressed.

Once the smoke has cleared Gai turns to his student. ‘Lee, who won?’

Lee shakes sweat on his face. A strange smile appears on his face. Gai takes this as a good sign. ‘Kakashi-sensei is…’ Gai smiles as wide as he can. ‘the winner.’ Lee finishes and Gai falls to the ground.

‘Yes!’ Naruto and Kiba yell out.

Neji nods as well. ‘At least he won. Or it would have been a disgrace.’

‘As much as he already has been disgraced I doubt it would have been an issue.’ Fugaku mutters loud enough for everyone to hear him. Kakashi shoots him a glare but it’s not something he’s unfamiliar with.

‘He’s about to be Hokage.’ Naruto stares at the man. Fugaku doesn’t say anything else.

‘That was a pretty good challenge.’ Kakashi says at the end. And that is where the fragment ends.

‘That was funny.’ Tenten knew it. It was a good laugh.

‘Entertainment nothing else.’ Hiashi mutters.

‘That was a good laugh.’ Shisui rubs his belly as if he’s eaten something. And he actually has. When Itachi wasn’t looking he stole one of the dango sticks. He didn’t notice… yet.

‘Nice after so many sad things.’ Tsume agrees. She can handle dark things. But a bit of lighthearted fun is hard to turn down.

Naruto laughs. ‘You’re right about that.’

‘It’s always great to see the youth having fun.’ Hiruzen agrees. If only he had the energy to have fun himself. That damn paperwork makes him age ten times faster.

‘Kakashi can be such a derp.’ Sasuke laughs.

Kakashi scratches the back of his head. ‘Hehe.’

Added notes:

Tobi is leader of Akatsuki and acts stupid
Deidara does clay and explosions
Tobi likes dango?

Kakashi and Gai are weird
Village got destroyed with two giant holes in the center
Kakashi going to be sixth hokage—why not me?—oh yeah I’m dead

‘I’m excited to see what’s next.’ Lee is bouncing in his seat. He hopes he would be in it. That would be really awesome.

‘Me too.’ Naruto agrees with the biggest smile still on his face.

Sasuke does his best to act serious. ‘I just wish it would be something a little more serious.’

The screen lights up. ‘Entrance of a villain’ are was is displayed on screen.

‘Who’s the villain?’ Naruto asks. There are a couple surprised faces.

‘I know a ton. I wouldn’t know.’ Shisui explains.

Chapter Text

The scene starts with an average looking Konoha nin looking up. He appears to be wearing a slightly different headband though. ‘Huh? What is this?’ He looks up. The rocky terrain around him becomes obvious.

‘Who’s that?’ Naruto asks. In all of the fragments they’ve seen before he hadn’t noticed that man yet.

Sasuke agrees with him. ‘He looks really generic.’ And he does. Standard brown hair, standard face, standard everything. There are like fifty other people that look the exact same.

Shikamaru shrugs. ‘He probably isn’t that important then.’ So far only the people that are important look unique. If he doesn’t then he’s probably cannon fodder.

Another section of the group turns to look at him. The people part of this group are the Tsuchikage, that Sand girl they saw previously and Naruto. ‘What are you sensing? The Tsuchikage asks.

‘What are they all doing together?’ Sakura shakes her head. She knows the uniforms of the other countries, they are required to learn it, but why would they all stand together. That hasn’t happened before according to her recollections.

‘Even those headbands. They’re strange.’ Ino agrees with her friend. She’s never seen that headband symbol either. But she must admit, it looks pretty awesome.

Shino pushes up his glasses. ‘Maybe we’ll get some context.’ But no one responds to him.

The ninja points up to one of the rock formations. ‘Over there.’

Everyone turns to look at the stone the man is pointing at. At first glance there appears to be nothing amiss. But then as they look closer a man appears. He looks kind of like a mummy with the way he’s wrapped up in bandages.

‘The second Tsuchikage.’ The Hokage is kind enough to fill in for the group. He might have only seen the man in passing. But his appearance is distinct enough to remember.

‘He’s also revived?’ Chouza munches on a slice of cake next.

‘It does seem that way.’

‘What is it?’ Gaara asks. As he’s there as well. ‘That’s the second Tsuchikage!’

Naruto looks at Gaara. ‘I thought Gaara sealed him away!’

‘So, the reanimations are not on their side.’ Shisui notes that down quick enough. It’s not something he’ll like to think about. The previous Kage, no matter how short their reign, are all powerful people. They should never be underestimated.

‘Maybe. The Hokage seemed to be on their side.’ Itachi adds. It really didn’t seem like the Hokage are going to fight against them.

The hokage nods. ‘Sealing them away… I suppose that’s the only solution.’

The Tsuchikage is shocked. ‘He used Fragmentation in that state?’

‘Fragmentation?’ Gaara asks.

‘Mu-sama was able to spit his body and create clones. No. Not clones. It’s loser to say he can split his body into two.’ The Tsuchikage explains. ‘Although his strength would be cut in half too.’

‘I heard rumors of it before. But to think they were real.’ Shikaku is a little surprised. A power like that is something most people would kill to have. Good thing they don’t. Hidan was scary enough already.

‘That seems scarily overpowered.’ Sasuke shivers. Another person that’s super scary. How many are there going to be.

Naruto slaps his hands on the desk. ‘Does that mean he’s the badass they’re talking about?’

Most of the group shrugs. ‘Probably.’

The plain ninja from before speaks up. ‘It’s not him!’ He opens his eyes. ‘There’s someone else.’

‘Or not.’

The camera changes few to on top of the rock formation. There we first see the previous Tsuchikage and then another figure appears. This figure wears the old school armor and has long black spiky hair.

‘Who’s that?’ Naruto squints his eyes. He does look a little familiar. He can’t exactly point out where he’s seen the guy before.

‘It could be Madara from before.’ Sasuke explains. They do have the same hairstyle.

Sakura nods. ‘That’s not good news either.’ Madara is supposed to be super strong. Which also means he’s super powerful and scary.

‘What?’ Naruto looks up. ‘There’s one more.’

The Tsuchikage’s eyes widen. ‘H-He is…’

‘Who is it?’ Naruto asks. The man in question walks forward.

Sweat drips down the Tsuchikage’s face. ‘You’ve come at last!’ The camera goes from the man’s feet to his head. ‘Uchiha Madara.’

‘So, it is Madara.’ That confirms it. Shisui writes down the new information with an ear open for new information.

‘That’s what he looked like.’ The Hokage agrees. His memories of the guy are still fuzzy but that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten that face.

Shisui taps his pen on the desk. ‘I knew that. There are plenty of portraits laying around back home.’ Most of the Uchiha nod along. It used to be customary to have a portrait made every single year. They stopped doing it when photos became a thing.

‘How does he deal with that hair.’ Ino puts her fingers through her hair. It looks like it’ll get in the way.

Sasuke agrees with her. Which is surprising since he rarely does. ‘It does look like it’s a pain to fight in.’

‘If it’s that long that means he’s got to be powerful.’ Neji explains. The longer the hair the more powerful the man or woman. It’s the truth.

Madara looks down on the crowd, his sharingan obvious in his eyes.

That’s him? Naruto doesn’t quite believe it. Then a quick shot of the man in the mask appears. ‘So that’s what he looked like beneath the mask.’ He states.

‘Wait what?’ the group is shocked. This wasn’t the revelation they expected. Not so soon at least.

‘The masked man is Madara?’ Inoichi narrows his eyes. ‘Sorry but I can’t see him acting like a fool.’ Madara seems way to poised.

‘You’re not the only one.’ Shikaku had to agree with his friend. Something doesn’t sit quite right here.

Lee nods along as well. ‘He seems far too dignified.’ He knows these kinds of people. They wouldn’t know what fun was even if it stared them in the face. Stuck up pieces of shit.

‘He looks exactly the same!’ The Tsuchikage sputters out.

‘What’s going on?’ Gaara asks.

‘Gaara is still awesome…’ Ino has stars in her eyes. Gaara has been growing on her. Sure, he kind of ruined Lee for a bit but he’s really put himself back together.

Naruto stares at the girl. ‘We haven’t even seen him fight.’

‘What do you mean?’ Naruto turns to his friend.

‘Look closely at his eyes. That’s a reanimation!’ Naruto turns to look at the man and he can see it too. ‘The Edo Tensei jutsu brings the dead back to this realm… Which means he had been dead!’

‘And he doesn’t have the rinnegan we saw him with before.’ Itachi points out. The rest of the group agrees. This must have been before that incident. But that still leaves one question.

‘Where did he get it?’ Sasuke tilts his head to the side. Is there some sort of store where you can buy them?

‘How am I supposed to know?’ Itachi stares at his little brother. He loves him to bits but sometimes he asks the stupidest of questions.

Shisui had put a halt to his writing. ‘But then who’s the masked man? If it’s not Madara.’ No one had an answer for him.

‘Wait a second. I thought HQ reported Madara elsewhere,’ The Sand girl speaks up. ‘approaching in the other direction with a bunch of jinchuuriki, right?’

‘Why would they follow him?’ Something doesn’t quite seem right to Iruka. If these people hunted the jinchuuriki it wouldn’t make sense for them to follow him.

Kakashi blinks. ‘Naruto and Gaara don’t.’

‘But there’s no mistake… He’s Uchiha Madara! The one I fought when I was young.’ The Tsuchikage responds. ‘Then who’s the man… behind the mask.’

‘So, the guy in front of us is the real Madara?’ Naruto asks one more time to be sure. ‘Then the guy we thought was Madara… isn’t Madara?’

‘Damn. Who could it be then?’ Naruto slams his hands on the desk once again. A part of him wants revenge on the man for indirectly killing his parents. The other part just wants an explanation.

Shikamaru puts his hand on his chin. ‘It’s probably someone that does know Madara. And judging by the way they believed the masked man’s lies probably an Uchiha as well.’

Hiashi turns to Fugaku. ‘Any people that come to mind.’

‘Most people that are old enough to know Madara are either female or demented.’ There is old man Jiro as well, but he can’t even walk anymore. ‘There is no one that comes to mind.’

‘That does make things more difficult.’ It’s likely than this man defected years ago to go undetected. Probably faked his death as well.

‘So, it seems.’ Gaara is just as taken aback as the rest.

‘As Tsuchikage, you’ve utilized the Akatsuki in the past. Can you speculate who that masked man might be?’ The sand girl asks.

‘There’s that girl again.’ Chouji points out. They’ve seen her quite a couple times already.

‘I wonder if we’ll ever get to learn her name.’ Ino laughs. There is something about the girl that she likes. She looks strong.

Itachi’s mind is somewhere else however. ‘The Tsuchikage used the Akatsuki?’

‘I wonder what that means? I mean Deidara was from the Stone.’ Kakashi explains. Maybe Deidara wasn’t send on those mission? He doubts Deidara would willingly work for his village again if he defected.

‘There’s no one I can think of.’ The Tsuchikage says. ‘But it doesn’t matter who he is! We still need to stop him!’

‘Yes!’ Naruto and Lee cheer.

The camera changes perspective as they are now moved on top of the rock. ‘Their headbands say Shinobi, but I see them wearing shinobi gear distinctly from each of the Five Great Nations…’ Madara starts speaking. ‘Is this a new allied army?’

‘Yep definitively not someone to act like a fool.’ This reaffirms their assumption.

‘It does appear that we’re at war.’ The second Tsuchikage responds.

Madara looks down on the crowd. ‘Coming from him. He must have something in mind. But things don’t seem like they’re going as planned.’ Madara scoffs. ‘Why else would he revive me in this state?’

‘Madara does know about it.’ Jiraiya takes note. This must have been planned ages ago if that’s the case. But then why wait so long. Why not earlier? Like after the second or third great wars when the villages were still recovering.

‘That’s a clue. But like old man Fugaku says. There aren’t Uchiha capable enough in their old age.’ Shisui tells them.

Then Kakashi suggests something crazy. ‘Maybe he’s like Orochimaru and manages to make himself younger all the time.’

It’s silent for a couple seconds before Jiraiya speaks again. ‘I’d rather not think like that.’

Time seems to have been skipped as next up a giant cloud of sand reaches the top of the rock. Next in view is Gaara who has his hands positioned for his jutsu. ‘I guess they won’t be easy to capture.’

Madara lands on the ground in front of the army, ready for attack. ‘Very well…’

The clouds slowly drift over the ground the people are standing on. It gives the scene a rather grim setting. Within the army tensions rise. People are getting nervous.

‘What’s he going to do?’ Kiba gazes at the screen. Something is about to happen, and it’s going to be epic.

‘He’s about to attack.’ Shino points out. He too stares at the screen, the bugs inside him are buzzing pleasantly.

Madara isn’t too bothered however. He slowly starts speeding up to the large army in front of him, not even hesitant about the sheer amount of people.

‘Here he comes!’ Naruto shouts but he readies himself for the attack.

‘Do not look directly into his eyes!’ The Tsuchikage warns the people. And not a second later the army starts making their way over to Madara as well. The distance between them is soon nothing. And as soon as they connect Madara rips through them like a lawnmower does to grass. People fly into the sky where he passes.

‘Holy sh—’ Before Shisui could finish that sentence he gets hit on the head by Mikoto.

But the doesn’t mean the statement didn’t describe the overall reaction perfectly. ‘Not going to lie. As powerful as I am, I doubt I would be able to do that.’ Jiraiya’s eyes are wide. To think there used to be someone that could do such a thing with ease. Sure, Minato came close, but he did it slightly differently.

‘Scary.’ Naruto shudders in his seat. How in the world are they going to be able to handle that?

It doesn’t take any effort on Madara’s part. He hits them and kicks them wherever and whenever he can. Entire groups of elite ninjas are nothing but flies to him. His sharingan track every movement of everyone on the field.

‘He’s leagues above everyone.’ Tenten is shocked. Never in her life would she have been able to imagine someone like that. There has to be something they would be able to do against him, right?

The Hokage nods. Madara truly is something else. ‘There’s a reason both he and Hashirama were dubbed gods among men.’

Neji glares at the screen. What business does this man have being so strong? It must be fate or something. ‘How in the world are they going to fight someone like that.’

‘I’m sure we can do something.’ Naruto nods. They can’t lose. Not now or any time. Even if they are as scary as Madara.

The second Tsuchikage flies in the sky above ready to use his own attack. The third Tsuchikage is the only one that notices but he isn’t too worried. You can’t use the particle style in your divided state right now… And as he says the attack fails. For the dead Tsuchikage that’s only a minor setback. As he disappears using some sort of invisibility technique. ‘Sensory types! Watch Mu-sama.’ The Tsuchikage tells them.

‘At least he’s not a threat for the time being.’ Sasuke points out. He laughs at the man’s failure to form a technique. Little does he know that someday he’ll experience the same frustrations.

Shikamaru agrees with Sasuke. ‘It gives them the opportunity to focus on Madara.’

‘Seeing how that’s going… I doubt they’ll be able to win.’ Chouji gazes at the food in his hands. The future isn’t looking that good. He can only hope he makes it out alive.

‘With Edo Tensei he’s even stronger than when he was alive.’ Shikaku read what the technique can do. It’s scary. Automatic regeneration, not able to experience pain. They’re just not human anymore.

‘Now that’s scary.’ Sakura says. She can’t quite believe there are people with powers like that. In her mind such things should be impossible. It’s better for them all.

Gaara as well is ready to attack but before he can do so the sand girl stops him. ‘Gaara, you and the Tsuchikage must recover first.’ Then she turns to Naruto. ‘Naruto! Instead of your clones, go into that mode!’

‘The truth is I can’t anymore. I used up my chakra in the earlier fight.’ Naruto explains to the girl.

‘What are they talking about?’ Naruto doesn’t get it. What mode? Regeneration?

Shikamaru turns to the boy. ‘Probably some ability you have.’

‘Do we know what?’ Hinata presses her fingers together. She would love to know what Naruto could do. He is her crush.

Shikamaru shrugs. ‘Could be something to do with the Kyuubi.’

Kiba raises his finger. ‘That’s a good point.’

Madara continues to comb his way through the crowd. And it does stress them out. The people can’t do anything against him. Without effort Madara is able to use their own weapons against them. It’s a plain slaughter. Eventually his attacks get so powerful that the ground shatters beneath his feet. At one point he even holds a person in the air by the neck. ‘Do you want to dance too?’ But then he gets hit by a force of wind.

It’s the sand girl. ‘Don’t underestimate me!’ She shouts at him.

‘You go girl!’ Ino cheers.

Sasuke is laughing as well. ‘Even if we don’t know your name.’

Madara stands up and carefully dusts of the sand, not even bothered. He makes a hand sign and not much later flames burst from his mouth. They encompass the entire field. Almost nothing stays alive within the flames. The people don’t stand a chance.

‘That’s one large fireball.’ Sasuke stutters out after he calmed down. His fireballs are way smaller. Most of the other had to agree with him.

Ino can already see herself burning. Stupid pale skin. ‘I hope I’ll never have to encounter something like that.’

‘And to think we thought Kakuzu’s fire was powerful.’ Tenten stares. If only she could do amazing things like that. Then she could kick ass!

Several mist nin do their best to counter the jutsu but even when they all give it their all they can just barely stop the jutsu from ripping the army apart. This does create a lot of evaporates water which cover the entire battlefield in a layer of mist. Madara uses this mist to his advantage and goes for the attack once more, sending several fire balls their way. Again, the battlefield witnesses the power of Madara.

‘At least they were able to stop it.’ Iruka wipes his forehead. Tension like this isn’t good for his mental health. It’s the reason he doesn’t go out on the field that often. Inside the village is a lot safer.

Kakashi taps his side with the book. ‘The mist isn’t helping though.’

But that’s when he notices someone is preventing some of his attacks. Every now and then his attacks get stopped by a layer of sand. It’s Gaara again.

‘Yay! Gaara!’ Naruto cheers once more. Gaara rocks!

‘Gaara here to save the day. He’s awesome!’ Ino cheers as well. But who should she ship him with. Her gut instinct is telling her to go with Lee, since they got that chemistry and all. Maybe there’ll be someone else?

‘This is as far as you’ll go!’ Gaara spreads out his arms. A force of sand rushes at Madara, again and again. It tries to capture him but Madara is able to dodge it every time. Even in the air it’s not too much of a problem for him.

‘I want to be able to do that.’ Naruto states. Several of the other children agree with him.

Iruka smiles. It’s harder than it looks. ‘Then you’ll have to kick up your training a notch or three.’

Naruto still enamored with the screen responds. ‘I don’t care.’

Then as soon as he lands on the ground a shadow flies over him. Madara looks up and sees Naruto with a giant freaking rasengan launching at him.

‘Naruto!’ Kiba yells. It scares the group a little.

Naruto tilts his head to the side. ‘What’s that?’

‘The rasengan. One of the signature jutsu of the fourth.’ Jiraiya explains. ‘Only way larger.’

Naruto grins as wide as he can. ‘Awesome!’

The Tsuchikage uses this to his advantage and raises the ground beneath Madara. This puts him right at the center of the attack. But Madara has something that can protect him against such attacks. Susanoo.

‘His is blue.’ Shisui points out. It might be a good starting point. If they could figure out the color of the masked man’s Susanoo maybe they’ll be able to figure out who he is.

‘What do you mean?’ Sakura asks.

‘Everyone’s Susanoo is a different color. Mine is green.’

A formed Susanoo is formed around him and protects him from Naruto’s attack. Not only that put it also punches Naruto away. Luckily Gaara is there to use his sand to catch him and his clone.

‘He’s already activated the mangekyo sharingan.’ The Tsuchikage mumbles.

‘Now he’s starting to get really serious.’ Itachi says. Staring at the screen he can only see how much he still has to learn. Sure, he might be a prodigy, but he doubts he’ll be able to stand against Madara.

‘As if he wasn’t frightening enough yet.’ Sasuke pouts. If only he could be that strong. Then finally he won’t be compared to Itachi anymore.

Madara forms two swords, one in each of Susanoo’s hands. People grip their weapons.

Gaara turns to Naruto. ‘How much longer Naruto?’ There is a Naruto sitting, meditating next to him.

‘What’s he doing?’ Tenten asks. She hasn’t seen Naruto do this before.

Chouza shrugs. ‘Guess we’ll see.’

‘Just hold on.’ It seems that whatever he’s trying to do will happen soon. As he focusses orange circles start to appear around his eyes. Meanwhile several people try to defend themselves against Madara by trying to attack him. Madara uses one of the swords to wipe out a good portion of them. And then he does it again, and again. The area around him turns into a completely unfair fight.

‘Orange eyeshadow? Why would he put that on?’ Ino blinks to make sure she was seeing it alright.

‘I don’t think that’s eyeshadow.’ Shino responds as bluntly as ever.

Gaara’s sand tries to hold the Susanoo down but it doesn’t have much of an effect. Madara even snorts from within. Another two hands with swords appear and the assault continues.

‘Because of the revival he has unlimited chakra.’ The Hokage supplies to the group and not a second later their faces start to whiten.

‘That’s certainly not good.’ Mikoto mumbles. A part of her is glad that her kids aren’t there on the battlefield.

‘Infinite Susanoo… nope.’ Shisui writes the information down. But inside he’s a little terrified. Who could stand against someone like that? Damn that Tobirama.

‘Sorry.’ Now Naruto is standing, with orange circles around his now yellow eyes. And a giant spinning rasengan thingy in one of his hands. ‘I’m ready! Get back everyone!’

‘Another rasengan?’ Naruto turns to the back for an answer.

Sasuke has to agree with his rival. It does resemble the rasengan a little. ‘It looks different.’

‘It looks like a frisbee.’ Kiba points out. Akamaru lets out a yip in agreement.

Sasuke blinks. ‘You’re right. It does.’

‘Sage mode.’ Jiraiya stares at the screen. It must be that. There is no other thing that comes to mind.

‘What is it?’ Iruka turns to the man. He would love an answer.

Jiraiya points at Naruto’s eyes. ‘Naruto uses sage mode. That’s why his eyes are so strange.’

‘That’s awesome.’ Naruto smiles. He doesn’t know what it is but he has no doubt it makes him super powerful.

Then Jiraiya continues. ‘But he doesn’t look like a toad.’

‘Maybe he has different summons?’ Tsume suggests.

‘Judging by the eyes I doubt that. Or it has to be something like goats.’

It doesn’t take the group long to respond to that. ‘That’s not Naruto.’

The Tsuchikage puts his hands on Gaara’s gourd. ‘Go Kazekage. Earth style: lightened boulder jutsu.’ And something within the gourd changes. ‘I made the surrounding sand lighter too!’ the man explains.

‘Gaara is Kazekage confirmed.’ Shisui writes down. To think someone that age can become a Kage, why couldn’t he? He’s awesome enough right?

‘Yay!’ The group cheers.

The sand flies out of Gaara’s gourd with a softness never seen before. With sand this light, I could…

The people close to Madara run away as quick as possible. Gaara sends the sand in the direction of the man and Naruto makes his way over as well.

The sand engulfs the Susanoo almost completely. It limits Madara’s movement a lot. Gaara does his best. If it’s like Sasuke’s, external attacks are ineffective. So, I should use the sand at Madara’s feet! As soon as he finished that the sand rises up from beneath Madara’s feet and drags him out of the Susanoo. ‘Go! Naruto!’

‘Sasuke?’ Sakura blinks a couple times. ‘What does he have to do with it.’

‘They probably had to fight against his Susanoo at some point.’ Shikamaru suggests.

‘Why though? Aren’t they on the same side?’ Sakura looks for a response, but she only gets a shrug.

Madara flies in the air, possible a little shocked. And Naruto sends the thing in his hands flying. ‘Rasenshuriken!’ He shouts as that’s apparently the name of the attack.

‘That’s a good name.’ The Hokage nods. He’s seen some terribly named jutsu over the years.

‘Better than what the fourth would have come up with.’ Jiraiya had to agree. If Kushina wasn’t there… it would have been a nightmare.

‘What are you talking about?’ Naruto turns to the back. This is his father they’re talking about.

‘Minato could do many great things. Naming things is not one of them.’ Jiraiya explains. He can only imagine the nightmare of a name Naruto would have gotten had he not written that book.

It goes for Madara at extreme speeds. Then the camera starts zooming in on Madara’s eye. Something strange is happening to it. From within the center ripples start forming and eventually his eyes turn into the rinnegan. That’s where the scene ends.

‘Did he just get the rinnegan?’ Sasuke stares. So, the shop doesn’t exist. Then what’s the secret. He would love to have such eyes. Purple matches his skin really well.

‘He did. How?’ The group turns to Shikaku for an explanation. He just stares at them.

‘I don’t think it’s that simple.’

‘But why does he have it. His past self didn’t, right?’ Sakura asks the Hokage.

The man shakes his head. ‘He did not.’ If he did everyone would’ve known.

Then Shikamaru suggest something. ‘Maybe it’s something to do with the revival.’

‘That’s the most logical assumption.’ That they could make so far. They’re missing some vital information after all.

‘I have to admit Madara was a badass.’ Lee points out.

‘Too bad he’s not on our side.’ But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s awesome.

Tenten sighs. ‘It would make things easier.’

Added notes:

- Madara is ultimate scary
- Madara is capable of rinnegan
- Madara has blue Susanoo
- Madara is not the man behind the mask

Naruto can use sage mode and frisbee rasengan. Also giant rasengan

‘So, what’s up next?’ Naruto asks. This fragment had him being awesome but not for long. Next one better be longer.

The screen lights up. The blue letters appear once again. It reads. ‘Troublesome woman.’

Tsume laughs out loud. ‘This is either Shikaku or Shikamaru again.’ Only they would say such things.

A smile is shared between all the people there. ‘I agree.’

Chapter Text

The scene starts with the Sand girl jumping down onto a stadium battlefield. She’s younger than in the previous scene. She lands on her feet and waits for her opponent.

‘Let me guess. Chunin exams?’ Kiba laughs. It’s a good guess.

‘It’s not the same arena Gaara and Lee fought in.’ Sakura points out, but she doesn’t necessarily disagree with Kiba.

Lee blinks a couple times. ‘But it does have that Sand girl.’

In the end Sasuke just shrugs. ‘Maybe we’ll finally get to know her name.’ because they still didn’t know it.

The referee turns to her. ‘Well, at least you seem willing to fight.’ Then he turns back to look at the people up in the stands. ‘Hey! Final candidate, get down here!’

‘What does he mean by that.’ Naruto narrows his eyes. He doesn’t get why people always tend to talk so confusingly. It always makes his head spin in a thousand directions.

‘Maybe the previous ones gave up.’ Itachi suggest. It does happen pretty frequently. Even at the exams he participated in.

‘Why would they do that?’ Why would someone give up when they’re nearly there?

‘Maybe they were up against Gaara?’ Neji suggests. He doubts even his future self would be able to stand against that guy. The sand is extremely dangerous. Not to mention it would dirty his clothes.

‘Good point.’

The shot changes to look at Shikamaru who’s grip on the railing seems to have tightened. Hey! Hey! What’s the rush? Hold your horses. Why am I always getting shafted in the match schedule, huh? Darn it. I should just withdraw too. Sweat drips down his face. Then a hand reaches behind him and pushes him of the stands.

Ino sighs. ‘Shikamaru. Really.’

‘Can you blame me.’ The says. The group turns to look at him with narrowed eyes.

‘Yes.’ Is the resounding reply.

‘Go get them, Shikamaru!’ It’s Naruto that shoved him of the stands. He falls forwards with a scream and doesn’t even bother saving his landing. He lands on his back right on the stadium floor.

Naruto you jerk. Now he has to fight.

‘Great job Naruto. Now he gets to actually do something.’ Ino yells at the boy. Naruto rubs the back of his neck. The rest of the group smiles. Shikaku as well. Shikamaru does need some motivation to get things done. And sometimes just pushing him into the situation works best. He would know, he used to be the same.

‘So, this is Shikamaru when not angry.’ Tenten observes. He’s way different from when he fought against Hidan and Kakuzu.

‘Don’t make him angry. Great lesson.’ Shisui nods and adds it to his notes.

‘How long are you gonna lie there? Get up kid!’ the sand girl speaks to him.

Shikamaru slowly moves himself a little bit. Everybody was looking forward to Sasuke’s match. And now they’re being offered a poor substitute for the main attraction. Everyone’s annoyed. There are boos coming from the public all around the stadium. He still doesn’t get up. No one cares about the outcome of my match. Is there any point in fighting?

‘Yes, there is.’ A couple of people in the room reply. Shikamaru does his best to make himself disappear. He feels kind of naked when people are hearing his thoughts.

‘I wonder what happened to Sasuke?’ Itachi says out loud. He can’t help but be worried about his precious little brother.

‘Maybe he got scared?’ Naruto teases while giving the boy in question a little shove.

‘Sasuke? No way.’ Ino replies. Sasuke would never get scared. He’s way too cool for that.

‘What, you’re going to give up too?’ the girl taunts him.

Meanwhile Shikamaru is still contemplating his life choices. I’m up against a girl again.

‘Is that a problem.’ Tsume narrows her eyes at the boy. Shikamaru doesn’t even flinch.

‘Girls are weak.’ He replies.

Sakura isn’t taking that. ‘Future me can create craters in the ground. Don’t you dare say that again.’ Kiba has to agree with her. He lives with two girls he knows they are anything but weak, they’re actually really scary. No wonder his father couldn’t handle it.

Asuma looks at his student, slightly disappointed. He doesn’t have a competitive bone in his body…

‘Hey Shikamaru! Get up and fight!’ Naruto yells from the stands.

The girl doesn’t seem to be taking it anymore either and rushes at him. ‘If you won’t come to me, I’m gonna go to you!’

‘Not the smartest decision but I get where she’s coming from.’ Shisui points out.

The referee stands there, slightly annoyed. ‘I haven’t told you to start yet…’

‘Poor Genma.’ Iruka laughs.

Kakashi as well is smiling. ‘It’s nothing he isn’t used to.’

Shikamaru takes out a kunai. ‘Sheesh. This chick really wants to fight.’ The girl still rushes at him with her fan and plonks it down into the are Shikamaru was laying down. It creates a large blast of dust and smoke.

Once the smoke created by the blast clears, Shikamaru is up in the air. ‘I don’t really care whether I become chunin or not, but… I can’t stand the idea of losing to a girl, so I guess I’m in.’

‘That’s a little sexist.’ Hinata says a little softly.

‘I have to agree. Trust me. Don’t underestimate women, especially mothers. They’re absolutely terrifying.’ Jiraiya explains. Shikamaru stares at the guy for a couple seconds.

‘Like I don’t know.’ His own mother is scary enough herself.

The girl doesn’t hesitate to rush at him once again. Swinging her fan at him. Once again, the area is covered in smoke and dust. The smoke eventually clears and Shikamaru is nowhere to be seen. ‘He’s pretty quick.’ The girl says.

Shikamaru is hidden behind one of the trees. But… it’s not like a boy can just clobber a girl either.

‘Who knows, maybe you’ll marry a girl like her.’ Naruto teases the boy.

‘Wouldn’t that be such a drag.’ He can’t even imagine getting married yet. He’s still too young, like way too young to get married.

‘Knock her block off! Shikamaru just hit her with a 16-punch combo!’ Ino cheers from the sidelines. She’s rather loud and probably not much of a help.

‘Is this seat taken?’ A voice asks her. Ino turns to look at who’s talking and it’s her other teammate Chouji. He’s munching on some snacks in his hands.

‘Oh, it’s you. Is your stomach better already?’ She asks her friend and by the fact that he’s eating one can make their own conclusions.

‘Did something happen?’ Sakura asks. She can’t help but be worried about the boy. Chouji is really sweet after all.

‘How are we supposed to know. We haven’t seen anything yet.’ Sasuke points out. He doesn’t get why people keep asking these questions. It’s not like they know either.

‘Sorry.’

‘At least we know he got better.’ Shino replies. The rest of the group couldn’t help but agree with him.

The girl with the fan repositions herself for the next attack. This guy uses shadows in his techniques, right? He’s probably trying to lure me into the wooded area where it’s shady, but there’s no way I’m falling for that.

Shikamaru isn’t too happy either. Man… why do I always end up fighting girls? He looks up at the sky where there are clouds passing by. Oh, how I envy the clouds. They’re so free. I have absolutely no desire to fight. The whole reason I became a ninja in the first place was so I could live my life the way I wanted. Naruto cheers him on from the stands. But it looks like it won’t be that easy. He smiles his best smile he comes out of hiding.

‘This is such a mood.’ Naruto laughs. He loves being a human but sometimes he does wish to be something else. If only to escape the glances of the villagers.

‘Glad you agree.’

‘Being a cloud doesn’t sound fun either. I mean you’re just water particles.’ Sakura points out. It would technically mean that you are cut up into tiny little pieces. That doesn’t sound too fun.

‘Let’s not think of it like that.’

What’s with the stupid expression on his face? Is he mocking me? The girl doesn’t know what to think. She takes her fan and swings it as hard as she can. ‘Wind scythe!’ She yells, and the stadium is taken over by wind. The harsh winds cut the trees Shikamaru is hiding behind. But it also causes a lot of dust to spring up, making it difficult for the girl to see what Shikamaru is doing.

‘That’s pretty powerful.’ Hiashi is impressed. A genin with that amount of force. It’s surprising that she hasn’t been promoted before this. She does have the skill.

‘Looks scary.’ Naruto shivers. ‘But not in the Madara kind of way.’ Madara was scary on another level.

‘I get it.’ Sasuke replies.

The dust isn’t even clear when a shadow reaches out from it. The girl notices this and hops backwards trying to avoid it. As she does so she notices something. It’s shrinking. Eventually she lands far enough that the shadow isn’t able to reach her.

‘Oh no.’ Sakura looks at the screen. How’s Shikamaru going to be able to beat her now.

‘It’s Shika. He has a plan.’ Ino explains. She has been working with him since forever, so she does know.

‘He’ll probably give up half way though.’ Chouji explains. He knows his friend long enough to know how he works.

‘He didn’t do it at the start.’ Naruto replies.

‘That’s right. But only because you pushed him in.’ Naruto did look a little sheepish after that.

‘It seems there are some limits to how much you can manipulate the size and shape of your shadow, hm?’ She smirks. ‘Even though you can stretch your shadow at will you can’t increase its overall size past its normal surface area, right?’

‘Pretty much.’ Shikamaru mutters. It’s what everyone knows essentially.

‘There’s more. Isn’t there?’ Tenten asks the boy. Shikamaru shrugs.

‘Why should I tell you?’

Shikamaru smirks. He must have some sort of plan. But the girl isn’t aware of that.

The girl puts her fan on the ground and starts measuring the distance between her and Shikamaru.

‘That looks really difficult.’ Naruto doesn’t get anything to do with measurements. They make his head spin.

Lee nods. ‘It’s math. Of course, it’s difficult.’ There are a couple of people that disagree.

Shikamaru meanwhile looks up at the clouds once again and puts his hands in a strange formation.

‘What’s that hand sign?’ Kurenai asks Asuma who’s sitting next to her like the couple they are.

‘That’s not a sign. It’s just a habit of his.’ Asuma explains.

‘It does look really stupid.’ Sasuke points out. Shikamaru sighs. He should have expected that.

‘It makes him a little vulnerable.’ Shisui agrees.

Iruka can see their points but they’re also missing something important. ‘The girl doesn’t dare to get close though.’

‘Smart move on her part.’

‘Habit?’

‘He really knows how to relax. He enjoys letting time slip by, just like an old geezer. He’s always bugging me to play go or shogi with him but whenever he gets stuck, he always assumes that pose.’ Asuma continues to explain.

Kurenai looks a little shocked.

‘He’s plotting his strategy! And… I’ve never beating him, not even once.’ Asuma smiles as he’s proud of his student.

‘Of course. He looks kind of dumb.’ At Kiba declaration the adults in the room sigh. Asuma is not dumb even if he doesn’t look the smartest.

‘That’s not very nice to say…’ Hinata points out. Kiba shrugs. He’s right.

‘Strategy? This is a real battle not a game.’

‘People say that before they became plaything, those same game pieces were used by military advisors to plan their strategies. So, I guess Shikamaru would make a first-rate military advisor.’ Asuma speaks with his cigarette stuck between his teeth.

‘Wait a minute! I remember reviewing his grades back when we were dividing up the genin into teams, Shikamaru’s grades were as bad as Naruto’s.’ Kurenai argues back.

‘Oi! What’s that supposed to mean?’ Naruto yells out loud.

‘Just as it sounds. Your grades suck.’ Sasuke teases the boy. He has the brightest smile he can make on his face.

Naruto shakes in anger. ‘I can’t help it that everything is so confusing, and Sensei uses all these confusing kanji.’

‘Then read the dictionary.’

‘Back at the academy he was too lazy to even move his pencil to take notes and he told me he always dozed off during exams.’ Asuma smirks. ‘One time I was so baffled by his proficiency at strategy games that I gave him an IQ test. I convinced him it was just another puzzle. I kind of did it just to mess with him but…’

‘What was his score?’ Kurenai asks. Now she’s curious.

‘He’s a sharp one alright! He’s got an IQ of over 200. He’s a freaking genius!’

‘Aw. Not over 9000.’ Tenten thinks that’s a missed opportunity.

Neji sighs. ‘The test doesn’t go that high.’ He got tested as well so he knows.

By this point the fight in the arena continues. The girl takes out her fan. ‘Looks like you’ve finally mustered up some fighting spirit!’ She yells as she moves her fan in an attack once more. It’s the same wind scythe attack she used previously. The winds rage over the battlefield once again and Shikamaru has to hurry to hide himself behind one of the trees, kunai in hand. ‘You can’t hide from me!’ The girl yells.

With one eye on the battlefield Shikamaru takes off his jacket, still trying to be as well-hidden as possible.

‘Stripping in front of a girl.’ Naruto has a little devilish smirk on his face as he pokes Shikamaru’s back with a stick he found hidden in one of the desks.

Shikamaru leans into the poking, it feels like a massage. ‘It’s called a plan.’

‘Oh. So, you’re using Naruto’s seduction techniques now.’ Sasuke joins into the teases. Naruto gets a little red in the face.

‘Never.’ Is the blunt reply of Shikamaru.

The girl swings her fan again. ‘How long are you going to keep running around? Will you quit it already!’ She yells at him once again. She swings her fan again but this time a well-aimed kunai flies toward her. Without much effort she’s able to block it with her fan. It’s useless! As long as I stay behind this line you can’t catch me. She smirks. Then she realizes something. Shoot! The shadow which previous wasn’t able to reach past the line now suddenly is able to.

‘Oh my.’ Mikoto holds her hand to her face. A match like this is a little bit like a breath of fresh air from all the tense moments. This is just a normal match and nothing more.

‘She’s in trouble.’ Chouza had to agree with her. He knows how the Nara work after working with them for so many years.

‘Looks like it’s going to be a loss for her.’ Kakashi agrees.

It’s not by much however and she’s able to dodge it once again. ‘Nicely done.’ Shikamaru complements her.

‘I get it. You were buying time, waiting for the sun to drop so that the area of the wall’s shadow and your own shadow would increase. Because as the day lengthens, so do shadows.’ The girl is impressed but still cocky enough to think she can win. Taking into account the sun’s current position and his last maximum attack distance. I’m definitively safe here for sure.

‘Knowing Shika, I don’t think so.’ Chouji mutters while shoving a slice of cake into his mouth. Even though he’s been eating the entire time, the table in front doesn’t get emptier at all. It’s like is magically replenishes itself.

‘Yeah. He can steal all your snacks and you would be none the wiser.’ Sasuke agrees. Every time one of his snacks goes missing he always sees the boy eating it later. It’s not fair.

‘I don’t do that!’ Shikamaru yells at Sasuke.

‘Sorry.’ Naruto smiles. Sasuke glares at the boy. He’s the one that stole his snacks? Shikamaru is right. Naruto is a jerk.

Shikamaru smirks. And if that’s not a sign for what’s to come.

‘Temari look up!’ The sand boy that’s not Gaara yells at her. And she listens to him.

‘The kangaroo guy!’ Naruto yells as he points his finger at the screen. The group turns to look at him.

‘What?’

‘He looks like a kangaroo.’ Naruto argues. The rest of group considers it but concludes that’s not the case.

‘He really doesn’t.’

‘At least we know her name now.’ Sasuke points out. They’ve been waiting for that for a while now.

‘Temari. It’s an okay name I guess.’ Shisui writes it down for future reference.

‘Says the guy that’s named after drowning.’

Brilliant. Is the lone comment from Shino, the local sass master.

Temari looks into the sky. Something is flying at her and it creates a shadow in the ground. The shadow gets progressively larger until it nearly snatches her. Luckily, she noticed just in time and was able to jump away once again. The shadow is still growing in size.

‘Diversion.’ Fugaku mutters. Itachi would’ve come up with something better for sure. ‘That’s basic.’

‘I still think it’s impressive.’ Tsume disagrees with the man.

Shikamaru takes notice, of course. ‘I won’t let you get away!’ he shouts as he lets the shadow curve away from where it was to the area she’s in.

We finally get to look above and the things that’s creating the shadow is Shikamaru’s vest, which is parachuting a kunai.

‘Oh. That’s why you stripped.’ Sasuke sounds a little disappointed. He hoped it would be something a little more exciting.

‘Too bad we didn’t get to see more.’ Ino says out loud. The group turns to look at her.

‘No.’

Temari is pissed. I never guessed he’d use his vest as a parachute to give himself more shadows to work with. The shadow continues to follow her. This guy is really something. With his shadow attacks, he forced me to keep my attention on the ground and kept me from noticing the parachute. And now if I focus on the parachute I’ll be distracted from his ground attacks. Then she starts smirking. But now it is crystal clear what the shadow possession technique is all about!

‘Feel free to tell us.’ Kiba has sparkles in his eyes. He could use that if he ever has to fight against Shikamaru.

‘It’ll be good blackmail material.’ Naruto agrees with him.

Temari lands herself on the ground once more and positions her fan for the attack. She smirks but she’s not prepared for the expression on Shikamaru’s face.

‘You managed to dodge me again?’ He blankly states but it’s obvious he’s got some sort of plan.

‘What’s he gonna do?’ Sakura asks. She has no idea what’s going to happen.

‘Probably something that’s really smart and really stupid at the same time.’ Ino explains to her. That’s how Shikamaru does things. He does something smart that’s really stupid at the same time because you should’ve thought of it before.

‘I thought those things were mutually exclusive.’

If I don’t get this over with, his advantage is going to keep growing along with the shadow of the arena’s wall. Temari is debating her options. My next move will end this.

Shikamaru’s shadow reaches out once again. She’s got her eyes on it, to make sure she can dodge it if it gets too close. She puts her hands in a sign for her next attack, but she finds herself unable to move.

‘How did he do that?’ From what Naruto knows about the technique he doesn’t understand how he got her.

‘He got her.’ Sasuke explains. Naruto looks at him. He knows that but he wants to know how.

You’ve got to be kidding? But that’s not the case as she’s caught in the shadow possession jutsu.

On the other side of the arena Shikamaru is smirking. ‘Shadow possession jutsu is a success.’ The audience is shocked. How did he managed to get her?

‘Why do I suddenly want to smirk?’ Kiba asks the crowd.

‘It the mood.’ Shino says but no one replies as always.

‘Shika nailed her.’ Naruto cheers. That was pretty badass of him. But he’s still not as cool as Kakashi, or Madara. He’ll have to practice a little more for that.

Temari turns to look behind and her and there is a hole from which the shadow that caught her extends. ‘The hole?’

‘You saw it, didn’t you? In the last battle, Naruto burst out of that hole to attack Neji.’ A quick flashback of said incident appears on screen. ‘He tunneled under the ground from that bigger hole between us, so they’re connected.’

‘So, Naruto’s match came first. And it was against Neji. Like that one with Hinata suggested.’ Itachi takes note. It might not tell them a lot but it does help a little.

‘We’ll get there with the time line.’ Shisui encourages his friend with a pat on the back.

‘Did you see how awesome I was!’ Naruto points to the screen as he looks at the group watching. Everyone ignores him though.

‘Don’t tell me you used the shadow inside the tunnel between the two holes?’

‘Bingo!’ Shikamaru nods.

‘Classic.’ Shikaku is proud of his son for having noticed that. His only problem is that the hole hadn’t appeared on the screen before. Then he would be able to have predicted the turn of events.

‘Go! Shika!’ Kiba yells at his friend. Lee joins in as well.

Temari is struggling. She can’t get out of it. She’s surely trapped. Don’t tell me… That parachute was just another diversion. You jerk!

‘Trust me. Sasuke is a bigger jerk.’ Naruto explains.

‘Am not!’ Sasuke pouts. He doesn’t think he’s a jerk. Even if he does push Naruto into the mud all the time.

Shikamaru uses the connection between them to get closer to her. Step by step. Then slowly Shikamaru raises his hand, and so does Temari. Tensions in the stadium rise. Chouji is munching his snacks with outmost passion. The rest of the kids cheer him on.

In the end it’s Shikamaru that speaks. ‘That’s it. I’m done.’

‘Eh.’ Was the resounding reaction of the people in the room.

‘He had that.’ Neji complains. He fails to understand that guy’s logic. It doesn’t make any sense to him at all.

‘Talk about being anticlimactic.’ Inoichi laughs. He should’ve expected a thing like that.

‘That’s Shikamaru for you.’ Ino sighs. She totally agrees with her father there.

The audience is shocked. He had it in the bag. Why would he give up?’

‘I told you he was gonna quit.’ Chouji says to Ino.

‘Said so.’ Chouji replies here.

‘I used up too much chakra doing all those shadow possessions in succession I won’t be able to hold you for more than about 10 seconds. So even though I’ve planned out around 200 more moves, I think I’m out of time.’ Shikamaru explains his reasoning. ‘And this fighting stuff is getting to be a drag one match is enough for me.’

‘I suppose that makes sense. He could’ve finished it as well.’ Shisui mutters. He doesn’t get these kinds of people sometimes. Even if the decision is pretty smart.

‘Get her to admit defeat first and then do it himself.’ Itachi nods along. ‘That makes more sense.’

‘He probably wants to torture her with a lousy win.’ Iruka knows the boy. And he knows what he does out of pure spite. He’s been the victim twice already and it reminds him every time to not get on his bad side.

‘I can see that.’ Shikaku laughs.

The referee takes it all in. What a weird kid. ‘The winner is Temari!’ And that’s where it ends.

‘Weird is one way to describe him.’ Neji grumbles. It probably has to do with his smarts. The excess smartness needs to come out somehow.

‘At least he’s not as strange as Naruto.’ Sasuke laughs. Naruto shoves him of his chair.

‘Hey!’

Added notes:

Temari is the sand girl
Something happened to Sasuke during chunin exams

‘Now I want to see what’s next.’ Naruto grumbles. The time is really flying while watching all these things. It’s probably not much longer and they have to eat dinner already.

‘I hope it’s about me this time.’ Kiba bounces in his seat. They haven’t seen much of him after all.

‘It’s probably not. You’re just a side character.’ Sasuke teases the guy. Kiba doesn’t know how to reply to that, only that Sasuke isn’t appearing much either.

The screen lights up and it reads: ‘Behind the mask part 2’

‘Does this mean we’ll get to see Kakashi’s face this time?’ This caught everyone’s attention. Kakashi’s face. Wouldn’t that be a dream to see?

‘I sure hope so.’ Jiraiya mutters. Minato did tell him once that it’s a pretty face. He has no doubts that if Kakashi were to show his face he would attract the ladies in no time.

‘I’ve heard many great things about it.’ Neji replies.

Chapter Text

The scene starts with the trio of Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke walking down a street. Only their back is shown, Naruto has his hands behind his head.

‘Let me guess. There are going to do something stupid.’ Neji states. A couple people snort in response.

‘It would make a lot of sense.’ Shikamaru grins. The group in question only grumbles. They are not that stupid.

‘Food is the best way!’ Naruto says.

‘It’s not. I’ve tried. Multiple times.’ Jiraiya says. The group turns to look at him. They didn’t know Jiraiya and Kakashi used to be so close to each other. But it might have been because of the fourth Hokage.

‘How?’ Naruto asks. How could eating be done without taking of the mask. Kakashi smiles.

‘Good timing.’

Sasuke replies. ‘That has the highest probability…’

‘But the problem is, how do we get Kakashi-Sensei to eat with us?’ Sakura wonders out loud.

‘I doubt he’ll be able to turn down free food.’ Shisui explains. He certainly couldn’t.

‘Who wouldn’t.’ Naruto shrugs. He wouldn’t turn down free food either.

‘All my food is free.’ Sasuke says. Naruto glares at him. How dare he.

‘That’s because we’re paying for it.’ Fugaku explains to his son. Sasuke does have the decency to look a little sorry.

Behind a corner Lee turns around. ‘This is bad. They’re coming this way.’ Then he, as well as Tenten, Neji, and Kakashi disappear in a plume of smoke. Just as the team is about to near the corner.

‘Did Kakashi hire them? To keep his face hidden.’ Iruka is surprised. He didn’t think the man would go that far.

‘Only Kakashi would go that far.’ Jiraiya explains. He doubts it’s because Kakashi doesn’t want his face to be known. It’s probably got to do with fooling around with people.

Kakashi only smiles.

Meanwhile somewhere else in the village a mysterious man is walking along. This man is rather plain, except for the two purply marks which stretch from his eyes down to his cheeks. He also has a mole on his chin. He’s just walking along. When suddenly his eyes widen.

‘Who’s this weirdo?’ Kiba asks. No one has an answer for him.

‘I’ve never seen him before.’ Naruto agrees. Several of the other kids agree as well. Even some of the other adults have trouble placing the guy.

‘He looks stupid.’ Sasuke states. Kakashi glares at the little kid. How dare he?

Gai is walking the same road. As they walk past each other a mysterious sound plays. And nothing else seems to happen. The mystery man takes a deep breath. He’s glad that’s over.

‘Is this some sort of fated meeting. You know like in those manga you read.’ Ino explains. ‘It’s like time stops for a moment and the two people both know something significant will happen between the two of them.’

‘Wouldn’t that be a bit of an exaggeration?’ Tenten doesn’t know what to think about that. Gai having a fated meeting? No way!

‘Somehow… I think it’s for comedic effect.’ Sakura explains to the girl.

‘Hey!’ Gai says to the man. And the mysterious person turns around. It’s clear that he didn’t want this to happen. ‘I’m sorry, but did you notice any kind of trouble going on around here?’ Gai asks the man.

‘What trouble?’ Sasuke tilts his head to the side. He didn’t see any trouble.

‘Probably you kids and your varying stunts to peek beneath the mask.’ Hiashi looks at the boy. Couldn’t he have come up with that himself?

‘Huh? No, there wasn’t anything…’ The man speaks. His voice is pretty high for a man but not extremely so.

Gai stares the man down. The man blinks a couple times and his eyes dart all over the place. Gai keeps staring.

‘Something is up here.’ Chouji narrows his eyes. He isn’t blind to the hinting that’s done in this scene. He doesn’t get what it’s for however.

‘No shit.’ Kiba yells. Even he could see it.

Naruto laughs. ‘That guy is really bad at lying.’ The other kids laugh as well.

Kakashi could only glare without revealing himself.

‘Kakashi…’ Gai starts. The man looks shocked. ‘I heard him and his team were making a commotion all around town.’ As Gai says this the man relaxes. ‘Sorry for stopping you.’

‘Ooh!’ Shisui gasps. He’s seen it and he could believe his eyes. He jots down notes immediately after.

‘What is it?’ Naruto asks. Is there something he missed? He probably did. He’s good at missing things.

‘I think I got it.’ Shisui states. Itachi looks to his friend. A little disappointed that it took him this long. He knew as soon as he saw the man.

‘Got what?’ Sasuke doesn’t get it either. But it looks like Itachi did so then he must be able to see it as well.

‘You’ll see.’

‘No problem.’ There is sweat on the man’s face. He turns around and starts to leave. He closes his eyes and sighs.

‘Hey.’ Gai says once more. As the man turns around Gai is right up in his face. Again, this shocks the man.

‘That’s Gai. Always annoying.’ Kakashi grumbles. He’s had plenty experience with the man. But he’s a good friend. He wouldn’t be where he was now without him.

‘Anyone with such a hairstyle is annoying.’ Ino laughs. Why did they think that would be fashionable?

‘Uh, can I help you?’ the man asks.

‘Don’t I know you from somewhere?’ Gai is still right in his face. Their noses are nearly touching.

‘Oh. I see.’ This time it’s Iruka who speaks up. It seems he finally got the message as well. Shikamaru just thinks it’s funny that he figured it out before his teacher.

‘You get it too?’ Jiraiya asks smiling. He too had managed to see it.

‘Yup.’ Iruka laughs. ‘This is great.’

Kakashi is still smiling on his own.

‘No, I don’t think so…’

‘Again, with the lying.’ Naruto points out. He can spot liars pretty quick because people have been lying to him since forever.

‘I suppose he’ll have to get some training.’ The hokage agrees with the boy. If that man’s acting really was this bad, then they would have to give him some lessons.

‘You know him?’ Naruto blinks. This must mean the guy is some sort of ninja.

‘Wait and see.’

‘Really? Well, excuse me. Later!’ Gai says as he turns around to walk away. Then he starts mumbling. ‘I could have sworn I’ve met him before.’

The man sighs.

The next shot is from inside an apartment. The mysterious man is standing half naked in front of the mirror in his bathroom. His ANBU tattoo is on display. Then his fingers reach for his eye and he pulls away a circle lens revealing the true color underneath. At least that would have happened if it didn’t cut away just in time.

‘It’s a disguise!’ Naruto and Kiba shout out loud. They could have never guessed. The rest of the group sighs at their stupidity.

‘Duh. I figured that out ages ago.’ Sasuke tells them. Naruto sticks his tongue out at the boy. In return Sasuke gives him a little shove. But the Iruka puts a stop to it before it can escalate.

Then the man starts correcting his voice. It turns into something deeper. Then his wig is pulled off to reveal Kakashi’s hair. After removing the purple stripes on his face, the truth is finally revealed. It was Kakashi all along!

‘So that’s what you meant!’ Naruto screams. He should have guessed. It would have made sense, yet his head is unable to make the connection.

‘Sneaky bastard.’ Sasuke mumbles under his breath. He acts like he knew all along, but he really didn’t. He’ll have to practice more.

His face is on display for everyone to see!

‘His face is a little disappointing.’ Neji states. The group turns to look at him.

‘I think it’s pretty great.’ Ino says. ‘What were you expecting?’

‘Something a bit more revolutionary.’ Like angels singing, objects floating, people being cured of illnesses. But instead they got a normal face.

‘I don’t get you guys.’

Then the scene ends.

‘That was pretty fun.’ Naruto says. He’s smiling. If only the older version of himself could have seen it as well. Then it would have been amazing.

‘One of the greatest secrets has been revealed!’ Tsume yells out. Sure she’s seen it before but that doesn’t change that it’s amazing to see again.

‘How do you feel Kakashi?’ Itachi asks his senpai.

‘I think it’s funny when people try to see my face. I don’t really care if they see it or not.’ Kakashi explains. ‘I like to fool with them though.’

‘That’s boring.’ Lee tells him. He should give them a reward, like actually showing his face as a reward for trying.

‘Sorry for not being entertaining enough.’

The boy shakes his head. ‘You are plenty entertaining. It’s your personality that could use some work.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Kakashi doesn’t know what he needs to change about his personality. He’s already a million times better than his child self. He used to be an utter brat.

‘What’s up next.’ Hinata asks the robot.

‘I want something funny.’ If there is one thing Naruto loves, it’s laughing and having fun. Some of the scenes they are watching are really sad and he’d rather watch something fun.

‘I just want clues to the future.’ Sasuke mumbles. He wants to know what happened to his future self.

The screen lights up once again and this time it reads: ‘Road to another dimension.’

The scene starts with five people standing within a playground. These five people are: Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Neji, and Lee. But something is different. Lee isn’t wearing the green jumpsuit and his hair is actually properly styled. Chouji is thin and Ino is dressed modestly. Something isn’t right here.

‘What’s going on?’ Sakura watches the screen. On it are familiar people that don’t look anything like they do as she knows them. It’s messing with her head a little bit.

‘This is really strange.’ Tenten agrees with her. She does notice that she’s not there. She’s on a team with Lee and Neji right?

‘The title did say this was another dimension.’ Itachi watches. He doesn’t know these people that well but even he can see that something strange is going on here.

‘What’s going on with Tenten anyway?’ Lee says.

Neji agrees. ‘Ditching training and missions are taboo for a Leaf Shinobi!’

‘So far I am not noticing anything strange except for their looks.’ Hiashi states. He has seen crazier things. He does wonder what is so different about these kids that lets them look so different.

‘Does this mean I’m the center of this scene?’ Tenten asks. She just heard her name. Does this mean she’ll finally get the spotlight?

‘You haven’t appeared yet.’ Lee laughs. But even he is looking at his self from this scene. He has to admit his future self does look a little strange but the one here dresses completely different. It’s kind of jarring.

Shikamaru smiles and points his finger. ‘She must really hate you.’ He laughs. He’s acting a bit odd.

‘I take that back.’ Hiashi says. Shikaku’s son would never act like that.

‘Is it me or does Shikamaru act like an idiot?’ Shino says. There is no emotion in his voice, but it does carry the thoughts of the people in the room.

‘You mean like Naruto?’ Sasuke laughs. Not much later Naruto delivers a punch to his head.

‘Hey!’ Again, Iruka has to interfere to make sure nothing bad happens.

‘That’s not the problem!’ Neji grumbles.

It’s Chouji that interrupts. ‘Well, he might be onto something. I mean, your team has got some serious issues.’

‘I wonder what they are talking about?’ Sakura says. She knows that the people in this dimension had some issues, some more than others but what could be the problem there?

‘Something about Tenten being strange.’ Lee thinks for a bit but he can’t come up with a reason why.

‘It could be that our Tenten managed to land herself in that world?’ Shikamaru suggests. The group turns to look at him.

‘What makes you think so?’ Chouji asks his friend.

Shikamaru shrugs. ‘Just a feeling. Why else would we see this?’

‘That’s true.’ Ino’s voice is softer than usual. ‘I wouldn’t be able to take all that vulgar talk.’

‘It’s like she’s the complete opposite of her normal self.’ Itachi thinks he might like this version more. The one here in the room knows some seriously weird stuff.

‘It’s strange.’ Iruka agrees with him. He can’t see Ino acting like that.

‘Are you saying I’m the problem?’ Neji points to himself.

‘Neji vulgar?’ Lee has to take that in. Neji in his mind always used to be the meaning of proper. It’s like they are the completely opposite of what they are in this world.

‘How odd.’

‘No… The way I see it, her anger is directed at something more than that.’ It seems Chouji is the voice of reason here.

‘You mean… I’m also to blame?’ This time it’s Lee that points to himself.

‘This Lee is strange. He’s got a better sense of fashion.’ Tenten shudders. If it really is her that managed to land herself in this world then it would make sense that she didn’t want to hang out with any of them. They are plain weird.

‘It’s still ugly though.’ Ino snorts. Lee is a little offended.

Then there is a cut.

Next thing to appear is the group standing on a bridge. There are more people there as well.

‘Until hell freezes over?’ Lee hangs on the railing. It seems that whatever they had come up with failed spectacularly.

‘Whatever they tried must have failed.’ Chouji couldn’t explain why else they would be so disappointed.

Then it’s Sakura who speaks up. ‘Now, now… don’t get so depressed.’ She says. In the background Naruto and Sasuke are there as well. But they are dressed a little differently. Naruto got another hairstyle and Sasuke looks like he stepped out of a shoujo manga. ‘But I wonder what the cause of all this is?’

‘Sasuke… pfft.’ Shisui has to hold in his laughter. Sasuke looks so weird. From the little fragment they had seen of future Sasuke he knew that his sense of fashion was passable. But this alternate Sasuke looks like some sort of playboy.

‘What is he wearing?’ Mikoto is a little shocked. She can’t for the life of her imagine her son dressing like that.

‘He doesn’t look like a ninja.’ Is what Itachi has to say about it. Most of them still looked like they would be able to fight with their alternate outfits. Sasuke doesn’t. It’s horrible attire.

‘I know. He looks like some sort of model.’ Ino has stars in her eyes. She can totally see herself dating someone like that.

‘Here Sakura is taking the lead.’ Naruto takes notice. He doesn’t see her do that a lot even though he’s sure she would be great at it.

‘Sure. Why not?’ It’s always great to see a girl take the lead.

‘Maybe she’s not mad, but worried about something.’ Ino suggests meekly. It’s not like her at all.

‘She doesn’t have an appetite, she rejects her friends, she’s troubled and wants to be left alone.’ Sasuke speaks, there is nothing particularly odd about how he speaks more about the amount of words that leave his mouth.

‘Sasuke doesn’t seem to be that strange yet.’ Hinata mutters. She’s seen what the others are like. And how strange that hairstyle is on Naruto.

‘Let me guess. Something strange is going to come up.’ Kiba calls. And he would be right.

‘There’s no mistake…’ he takes out a rose from nowhere. ‘She’s lovesick!’ He suggests, very out of character.

‘What!’ Ino has to take that in. Sasuke would never act like that. He’s too cool for that. Sasuke stares at the screen with wide eyes. He can’t believe it. His alternate self is like that. It’s horrible!

‘Sasuke?’ Itachi like his brother has wide eyes. This is impossible. His sweet little brother… he would never be that obsessed with love. Of all things.

‘Well if we’re going with the opposites and in this world Sasuke is loved by the ladies, then in that world he must love the ladies.’ Shikaku smiles. But deep inside he’s grimacing at what his alternate self must be like. Well if Shikamaru was anything to go off it’s not looking that good.

‘What an odd logic.’ Inoichi muses. At least his girl is sweet in that world. But she’s also sweet in this world.

Sakura laughs as if it’s normal. ‘That’s all you think about. What do you think, Menma?’ The shot changes to the strange Naruto.

‘Menma?’ Sasuke tilts his head to the side. He wasn’t expecting another name.

‘Naruto got another name?’ Sakura too is a little surprised.

‘Why me?’ Naruto like his name. It’s his favorite in ramen, menma isn’t. This world hurts his head!

‘This world is really strange.’ Hinata muses. She too is a little scared at what her alternate self must be like.

‘We’ll get nowhere just talking amongst ourselves.’ He’s quitter than usual. It makes it seem like he’s smart.

‘Oh. That must mean that in this world Naruto is smart and quiet.’ Kiba says like he just figured out how to travel to the moon.

‘This makes my head spin.’ Naruto clutches his head. No way in the world could he actually be quiet. No way! Being loud is part of him.

‘You’re right!’ Sakura is ready. ‘So, let’s all do something for her!’ She pumps her fist into the air as she takes the lead.

‘I have a feeling they are going to fail again.’ Shino says. They all glare at him. He hasn’t appeared yet. The Shino of that world must be some sort of social butterfly.

Then there is another cut. The people are back on the bridge and it seems that their plan has failed once again.

‘She’s beyond our help.’ Sakura states. ‘She’s in full battle mode and she’s just not listening to us.’ She explains.

‘Told you so.’

‘So, you didn’t fare any better, eh.’ Neji says.

‘If she’s not upset about Neji’s pervy comments and she’s not in love. What do we do?’ Lee screams out.

‘Neji a pervert?’ Lee blinks a couple times. That wasn’t what he was expecting Neji to be like.

‘As long as he isn’t misusing the byakugan I’m fine with it.’ Hiashi grumbles. Yet they’ve been blessed with the best spying tool in the world but that doesn’t mean they get to misuse it like that.

‘He would love my books then.’ Jiraiya has a glint in his eyes that most people don’t like.

‘I have a feeling that in this world you’re going to be all proper.’ Tsume points out. What would she be like? Soft? No way!

Kakashi snorts. ‘That would make sense.’

‘We just have to leave her alone.’ Another voice cuts in. It’s Shino, he doesn’t look that odd. Kiba who’s walking behind does. The markings on his cheeks are a little different and Akamaru is nowhere in sight. ‘Oh, but that doesn’t mean ignore her.’

‘What’s going on with them?’ Sakura doesn’t notice anything different about them. Sure, Shino was the first one to speak but that doesn’t say anything yet.

‘I don’t notice anything strange. Except for Kiba’s cheeks.’ Sasuke agrees.

Shikamaru takes it all in and goes over multiple theories. ‘They make him look more feline.’ Is all he manages to say.

Not a second later Kiba’s face darkens. ‘Oh. Don’t tell me… I’m into cats here?’

‘It would make sense.’ Shino tells his friend.

Kiba puts his head on the table and cries. The rest of the people there laugh at his antics. Akamaru lets out a little whine. Does that mean he isn’t with Kiba, or is he a cat?

‘I agree. Tenten herself seems to want that.’ Kiba cuts in.

‘Isn’t that a little cold?’ Lee replies.

Then Menma cuts in. ‘I don’t think we should leave her alone. Something bothers me.’

‘Look at him being smart.’ Iruka is a little surprised to hear Naruto’s voice be the smart one but he thinks he likes it.

‘It doesn’t fit him! Naruto is supposed to be an idiot.’ Sasuke yells out. He’s supposed to be the smart one here.

‘Hey!’ Naruto shouts again and he gives Sasuke a hard shove. Sasuke nearly falls of the chair.

‘My point.’

‘Menma, you’re such a good, thoughtful friend!’ Hinata cuts in. There is something different about her. She’s much more provocative and wears obvious make up. She’s acting all sweet to him. Then her mood changes completely. ‘The complete opposite of that Tenten! I’ll go beat some sense into that wench!’ And she poofs away.

‘Holy moly!’ Naruto shouts. This Hinata is really strange. She’s a little intimidating.

‘Hinata is scary… Something I never thought I’d see.’ Kiba winces. Hinata always was that girl that would cheer you on from the sidelines. Someone reliable but that didn’t voice it. This Hinata is loud.

‘It’s kind of hot.’ Shisui mutters. It’s something that is kind of attracting him and he doesn’t know what to feel about it.

‘I think it’s scary.’ Naruto mutters.

‘No matter the world she still got a crush on Naruto.’ Jiraiya laughs. He has to agree with Ino. They would totally end up together, you know, if Hinata didn’t die.

‘A what?’ Naruto blinks a couple times. What is this old man talking about.

‘One moment, Lady Hinata.’ Neji reaches out to grab her but fails. ‘She disappeared.’

‘She left a clone. The real one is already gone.’ Menma explains.

‘Oh. That’s not going to end well.’ Tenten mutters. Her future self-better be able to defend herself from someone as scary as that.

Then the scene ends.

‘Aw man! I wanted to see more.’ Kiba complains. He has to confirm whether or not he’s into cats there.

‘I want to forget that world.’ Naruto promptly states. ‘Everything is wrong there.’ It makes him feel uncomfortable.

‘I can see your point.’ Sasuke has to agree with him. His alternate self can burn in hell. He’s awful.

‘Would the Akatsuki still be evil?’ Chouji wonders out loud. Ino’s eyes sparkle as she can see all those hot guys within her reach.

‘Probably? Or not. I don’t know.’ Shikamaru can go over many things but there are several inconsistencies in what is changed and what not. He’s not able to make a conclusion just yet.

‘That was odd.’ Is the only thing Fugaku could say. He could have never imagined seeing a world as strange as that. Especially his son. What was he thinking?

‘I think I’m going to have nightmares.’ Naruto mumbles. So many things wrong.

Sasuke blinks a couple times and tilts his head to the side. ‘Why? It wasn’t scary.’

‘Hinata scared me. I like our Hinata better.’

This makes the young girl go red in the face of embarrassment. Naruto noticed her! ‘Eep!’

‘I wonder what everyone else would be like?’ Iruka says. Would he hate kids there? He hopes not. He likes them too much for that.

‘Itachi would probably be really violent.’ Shisui laughs. Itachi pales at the thought.

‘Oh no.’ He hopes not. At least Sasuke doesn’t show any signs of that being the case.

‘Isn’t he violent in our world as well. Since he, well, you know.’ Sakura points out. At the thought the mood in the room darkens immediately.

‘Right.’ Shisui doesn’t want to think about it. ‘He might be a jokester then.’

‘Or actually have a social life.’ Kakashi points out. A couple people stare at him, he really shouldn’t be the one saying that.

‘I have friends.’ Itachi complains.

‘Two people is not a lot.’

‘It’s enough for me.’

Added notes:

Kakashi is handsome and a bad liar
Kakashi has an alternate identity

There is another world in which everything is the opposite of ours
Hinata is kind of cool
Sasuke is weird, like really weird
The rest is just strange

‘What’s up next?’ Lee asks the screen.

Everyone’s attention is on the screen as it displays the words: ‘The cause of death.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Naruto complains. What’s with these vague titles. Couldn’t they be simple? Like ‘This is Sasuke fighting a snake.’ Or something.

‘Dunno. I wonder what it’s about.’ Sasuke has a strange feeling in his gut. It doesn’t feel good.

‘I have a feeling that this is going to be one of the more serious ones.’ Neji points out. Sure, they are hoping for clues to the future, but the grim future they’ve seen so far is not something to look forward to. Even if it’s fate.

‘I agree. There is death in the title.’

Chapter Text

The scene starts with someone putting their foot down. And the next thing shown is Itachi sitting on a throne, all arrogantly. He has his Akatsuki cloak on and looks to be in his early twenties.

‘No. Not me.’ Itachi sighs. He knew this was bound to happen at some point, but he couldn’t say he was looking forward to it. He still doesn’t get the actions of his future self.

‘Evil Itachi again.’ Sasuke glares at the screen. He can’t believe this is his sweet brother in the future. He looks like a villain from a superhero show.

‘He does look pretty hot.’ Ino stares at the screen with hearts in her eyes.

Sakura narrows her eyes. ‘I just think he looks arrogant.’ She doesn’t get what her friend is on about. She doesn’t see it. The only one that looks hot is Sasuke.

‘That sharingan. How much can you actually see?’ Itachi speaks. There is nothing in his voice that can be discerned as emotion.

‘How much can I see with these?’ Sasuke responds. ‘What I’m seeing right now, Itachi, is your death.’ Sasuke’s face does appear but he lacks the rinnegan. Instead his eyes are the normal sharingan. He’s also wearing some bandages around his head.

‘Don’t tell me this is a fight to the death.’ Iruka sighs. This is not what they were hoping for. They were expecting some gruesome scenes but he’d rather that none of his students had anything to do with it.

Kakashi right next to him sighs. ‘I fear that might be the case.’

‘At least we can get an estimate on the time line. Sasuke doesn’t have the rinnegan yet.’ Jiraiya is thoughtful enough to point out.

‘And the mangekyo. He doesn’t have either.’ Kakashi adds.

‘My death, huh?’ It’s silent for a second. ‘Well then,’ Itachi appears right behind Sasuke, ‘make it happen.’

‘Oh. Badass.’ Kiba whistles.

Naruto nods along while bouncing in his seat. ‘Shit’s about to go down.’ It’s as if they didn’t hear the words of the adults earlier.

Sasuke smiles a little and within the next second they clash. Itachi has a kunai in hand and Sasuke realizes he must use a blade of his own and takes out his sword. He’s able to block the next attack just in time.

Next thing you know Itachi has started to attack once again. Twisting his body to try and kick the sword out of Sasuke’s hand, it fails. He twists some more and hits Sasuke this time. It makes Sasuke stumble backwards for just a bit. Sasuke doesn’t take it badly and goes for an attack of his own. Slashing his sword as Itachi is coming down from the air. But just before he lands Itachi grabs Sasuke twist him around and throws him to the ground.

‘They go straight to the brawl. I thought they would talk a little more.’ Sakura stares at the screen. Sure, Sasuke doesn’t talk that much but she thought he would like to know certain things that he didn’t know before about the massacre.

‘Sweetheart, Sasuke is too impatient for that.’ Mikoto smiles at the girl. She is Sasuke’s future teammate, and possible love interest, after all.

‘Mom!’ Sasuke yells back with his face red.

Sasuke has to reposition himself and makes some signs. ‘Chidori.’ And the familiar light and sound of the attack fills the area. Itachi stares at his little brother.

‘He does like that jutsu doesn’t he?’ Chouji wonders out loud. Sasuke has been using it a lot in the fragments.

‘It’s strange that he doesn’t use fire jutsu.’ Fugaku agrees. Surely his son doesn’t have a lightning affinity. Dual affinity would have been fine, but lighting alone, no way!

‘It could be that he’s one of the founder’s children.’ Mikoto suggests, referring to a myth within the clan.

‘What?’ Most of the group that isn’t Uchiha turns to look at the couple.

‘It’s said that the founder of the clan used to control lighting or something like that. So, when a child is born with a lightning affinity then they are one of his children.’ Shisui explains. He never bothered with the legend, or any of the others. It’s just a fairy tale from the old days.

Sakura frowns. That doesn’t make any sense. ‘Aren’t you all?’

He shrugs her off. ‘Technicalities.’

Then Sasuke takes off towards his brother as fast as he can. He puts his hand to the ground. ‘Chidori stream!’ and the Chidori channels through the ground towards Itachi who is quick to jump out of the way.

‘See Kakashi. He’s able to modify your jutsu as well.’ Jiraiya laughs. He’s actually seen Sasuke use the jutsu more often than he’s seen Kakashi do it.

‘Hmm.’ Kakashi goes over the ways to apply such a jutsu. ‘Looks interesting.’ He’s not even bothered in the slightest with Sasuke modifying his techniques.

Just as he approaches the ceiling Sasuke is already there waiting for him. Sasuke is smiling. It’s a little creepy. And hits his brother with a sword right through the chest.

‘That’s it?’ Kiba blinks at the screen. He has been expecting something a little grander.

Tsume snorts. ‘No way. It’s probably a genjutsu.’

‘Knowing Itachi, it definitively is.’ Mikoto laughs. She knows her sons. It’s such a shame it got to this point.

He puts him on the ground. Itachi’s finger raise up into the air as Sasuke is staring at them. And then they turn motioning for Sasuke to look that way. And there he is still sitting on the throne. The clone down on the ground turns into crows.

Sasuke stands up straight. He remembers something from before. ‘The same line as before and the bird. Another farce with your special genjutsu?

‘Even Sasuke knew.’ Naruto laughs. He doesn’t get what the point is but it sure as hell was funny.

‘Has he gotten so bad at hiding it?’ Fugaku can’t imagine such a thing. Itachi would need the power to stay safe in such an organization.

‘I think Sasuke has gotten stronger instead.’ His wife suggests. Fugaku can see it, but just barely. He’s never seen Sasuke fight before. How should he know the boys capabilities?

‘What do you want to know?’ Itachi asks, not even bothering with the question. ‘It’s not over, but I’ll hear you out.’

‘I’ll say it once more…’ And then another sword hits Itachi right through the chest. Sasuke has gone right behind the throne and waited to strike. Then there is a strange cut. As if there is a moment Number doesn’t want them to see. As the next thing they see is a lightning attack Sasuke sends at Itachi.

‘What’s with these strange cuts? We saw them before as well.’ Lee complains. They’ve been happening quite a bit lately and they don’t cease to be annoying.

‘I guess Number doesn’t want us to know certain things.’ Neji stares. What could be so important that they would skip over?

‘My eye is not like it was in the past!’ Sasuke screams. It seems that it had something to do with the conversation that was conveniently cut out. ‘My sharingan can see through genjutsu!’

‘Told you so.’ Mikoto pokes her husband in the side. She’s proud of her son. He’s gotten so strong. If only they could have stayed happy together… that would have been even better.

‘You still speak with such confidence. But for now, I’ll take your word for it.’ Itachi speaks in return. As if there is a hidden layer beneath it.

‘Why don’t we end this little charade?’ Sasuke asks. He stops his attack.

‘Being confident is fine. But Sasuke, your eye still isn’t the same as mine.’ Itachi speaks. The sound of lighting is still being heard. ‘So, you couldn’t kill the friend who is most dear to you. And you dared to appear before me with such weak resolve?’

‘Excuse you! What is the meaning behind that? Are you telling me you killed me?’ Shisui suddenly screams out. The kids look at him. What’s he on about? Itachi didn’t say such a thing.

Itachi’s eyes widen. ‘I could never.’ He mumbles. He stares at the screen. What in the world happened to him?

‘Well future you sure is implying it.’ Shisui grumbles. Should he start feeling unsafe around Itachi now? No way in hell! Itachi isn’t that kind of person. Someone must have done something to him.

‘At least I didn’t do such a thing.’ Sasuke pats himself on the chest.

Shisui nods in approval. ‘Good job Sasuke.’

‘Then hurry it up and try to kill me with you mangekyo sharingan!’ Sasuke yells back as he deactivated his lightning technique. ‘Or is it too difficult to test your capability against me now?’

Itachi sighs and stands back up. ‘You’re pretty sure of yourself.’

‘Nah. Sasuke’s just sassy.’ Naruto laughs. This is funny as hell. But he knows that soon it will turn really epic. At least that’s what he’s hoping for.

‘Don’t you mean sexy.’ Ino raises her eyebrows a couple times in suggestion.

Naruto’s face twitches. ‘I’m sorry. I don’t swing that way.’

Then another convenient cut happens. It seems that this person controlling number doesn’t want them to see certain bits.

Then Sasuke takes of the bandages around his head and then his cloak. He throws them on the ground. He opens his eyes after closing them for a bit. ‘I’ve finally arrived.’ He says.

‘What’s the point of wearing them if you’re going to take them off immediately?’ Tenten doesn’t get it. Aren’t these bandages supposed to protect you? Or hold your wounds together.

‘There might have been an injury.’ Lee tries to explain.

‘Wouldn’t he keep them on then?’ He had nothing to say to that.

‘You say you can see my death,’ Itachi begins to speak, ‘but you cannot win against my mangekyo sharingan. Unfortunately, your goal will end as an illusion. Because you do not possess the mangekyo sharingan.’

Sasuke doesn’t respond. Instead he takes of the bandages around his arms revealing some seals on his arms. Then he starts speaking. ‘You can use your eyes all you like, but my hate will turn my illusion into reality.’ Meanwhile Itachi activated his mangekyo. ‘Your reality is death.’

‘What’s with this emo talking.’ Tenten could only stare. If it was anyone else saying such things they would’ve been called idiots. They’re trying too hard!

‘It’s the drama hidden in our genes.’ Shisui explains. Mikoto snorts.

‘What?’

‘You’ve seen Madara before, and Sasuke too. We are genetically predisposed to being dramatic.’ And they haven’t even had the reveal of the masked man yet. Shisui only laughs. Itachi has a small smile on his face as well.

‘I’ve noticed.’ Shikamaru snorts out. Why couldn’t they just stay home and do nothing. That would solve so many problems.

There is a minute of silence before the actions suddenly begins. They both start throwing shuriken at each other. The barrage never hits someone. They are always able to deflect or dodge the projectiles. This continues for quite some time. Then one of the them surges forward but gets blocked by the other. The wind created by the barrage slowly dies down. They have a good grip on each other. No one makes a move.

Then out of the shadows a clone of Itachi appears with a couple kunai in hand.

‘Sneaky.’ Chouji takes another bite of the cake in his hands.

‘We are ninja.’ Is the only explanation he gets.

Sasuke looks up. Even during our shootout, he was able to weave signs for a shadow clone! He screams in his mind.

The music starts playing in the background. In slow-motion Itachi throws the projectiles at Sasuke. Then the camera turns to Sasuke, who has a strange mark on his shoulder. Said mark starts bulging outwards, stretching the skin. And eventually it forms into a snake. The snake wraps itself around Sasuke’s body protecting him from the assault and forcing Itachi to take a step or two back.

‘Is that what I think it is?’ Kakashi murmurs to Jiraiya. Not that many people could hear them talk.

‘It sure does look like it.’ Jiraiya looks at it once more. ‘He’s not restraining it.’

‘What are you old people talking about.’ Naruto yells to the back.

‘I’m 22.’ Kakashi responds.

‘That’s thrice my age.’ Naruto retorts back.

‘…’ He had a good point.

‘It’s nothing to concern yourselves with.’ The Hokage says and they all know not to push any further.

Then the sound of a poof appears and Sasuke starts spinning around his giant shuriken and launches it at Itachi, while powering it with his lightning. Itachi is able to stop the weapon for a bit with just a kunai and a bit of force. But then the weapon is able to the go through Itachi’s arm. And his disappears in a flurry of crows.

The crows make their way toward Sasuke who’s watching them with intend. Then Itachi appears in front of his and kicks him right into a wall. Sasuke falls to the ground. He’s about to use another lightning attack but Itachi returns to punch him in the gut. Sasuke starts couching a fit.

‘Brutal.’ Ino stares at the screen.

‘I’ve seen worse.’ Kakashi sighs. This wasn’t even that bad.

‘Sasuke is his brother.’ Ino explains.

‘That’s a good point.’

Then Itachi has him in his hold and reaches forward with two fingers. Like he always did. He stops right around Sasuke’s left eye for just a second. ‘Forgive me Sasuke.’ He says before he grabs the eyeball. ‘This is my reality. Give me your light.’ And then he pulls it out. Luckily the camera turns black at just the right moment.

‘Holy shit!’ Shisui yells out suddenly. Never in a million years had he been expecting Itachi to do such a thing.

‘Language!’ Mikoto throws a book at the boy. It hits him right on the head.

‘Sorry.’ Shisui rubs the place the book hit.

Sasuke can only stare at the screen in disgust. ‘Did Itachi just rip out my eye.’

‘Does that mean he’ll replace it with the rinnegan?’ Neji points out. It’s the same eye, if he remembers correctly.

‘That could very well be.’

The next thing they see is Sasuke clutching his face with his free hand and Itachi holding the bloodied eyeball in his hands. It’s a little gross.

‘I told you.’ Itachi speaks. ‘You do not possess the mangekyo sharingan. You can never win against my eyes.’ Meanwhile Sasuke is shuddering and moaning from the pain. ‘I’ll take the other one too.’ Is what he says next.

‘This is a lot.’ Itachi’s face is pale. He can’t bear it that much longer. This is too much for him. How he wishes he could snuggle up in his blankets now.

‘That must hurt.’ Sakura states. She can barely keep her eyes on the screen.

‘No shit.’ Kiba points out. ‘Sasuke can barely hold it in.’ He’s glad his family doesn’t have any eyes worth pulling out.

Next thing he knows a strange pattern starts covering Sasuke’s body. It looks like it’s burning but not outright hurting the boy. Then all of a sudden, a giant appendage appears from Sasuke’s back. It shatters the wall behind him and forces Itachi to jump away. The giant appendage looks to resemble something like an arm. Sasuke is still shaking from the pain.

‘What in the world is that?’ Tsume nearly screams out. She’s never seen anything like it. And she has experiences a strange Kiri nin that could create limbs from wood.

‘Orochimaru’s curse mark.’ The Hokage explains. He’s never seen it in action before. With Anko they were quick to restrain it.

‘What does that mean?’ Naruto asks. He doesn’t like it that all these adults are keeping secrets. First about the Kyuubi, and then his parents. Why don’t they just tell him?

‘I don’t know much about it myself. But it seems it gives Sasuke some extra power.’ The Hokage elaborates.

Next up Itachi takes out a vial of greenish fluid. Sasuke doesn’t look to notice it. But his eyeball that was ripped out before gets neatly placed inside, now floating in the fluid. Itachi calmly closes the vial. Sasuke can only watch as he recovers from the pain.

‘This is the difference in our strength.’ An arm appears behind Sasuke and grabs him from behind. ‘The difference between your ocular powers and mine.’ Itachi continues. For all he’s worth he is saying the same shit over and over again.

‘Why does he keep saying that?’ Tenten doesn’t believe any of it. She’s seen actors on stage before and this is reminding her of that quite a bit. A least Sasuke seems genuine. Itachi is as expressive as a wooden plank.

‘It’s like he practiced his lines beforehand.’ Ino agrees with her. She’s seen her father with a couple emotionless people before and this is not like that at all.

‘Knowing Itachi that could very well be the case.’ Shisui laughs. Sasuke joins in as well.

‘I don’t do that!’ Itachi grumbles. His face is still pale but a blush of embarrassment covers his cheeks nicely.

‘Nii-san is lying. I saw him talking to the mirror before.’ Sasuke tells the group. It sends the people in a laughing fit.

‘Sasuke!’ This only makes the laughter louder.

The other Itachi makes his way over to Sasuke. Itachi reaches out to grab the other eyeball but something stops him. The strange markings from before go to Sasuke’s eye and cover it, turning it black. And then from his back two snakes appear, piercing the body that was grabbing him.

‘What does Sasuke keep stored in that body of his?’ Shikamaru is a little disturbed, and he’s seen chickens devouring a rat before.

‘It’s like it’s a portal to another dimension.’ Chouji agrees with his friend.

‘That actually sounds pretty useful.’ Shino points out. The group stares at him. He’s the one with insects in his body.

Then the area goes strange. Some shakes and the view turn inverted black and white. Then the screen starts cutting itself apart. Next thing you know Sasuke is back where he was, and so is Itachi. Sasuke is still grabbing the area around his eye. But now he has both eyes again. Sasuke falls to the ground.

‘Oh. It was another illusion.’ Naruto is a little disappointed. When is the epic battle coming?

‘Don’t tell me this is going to be one of those fights.’ Iruka sighs. He doesn’t like those at all, and half the people at his chunin exams were genjutsu users, those battle were, to put it bluntly, way too boring.

‘What fights?’ Sasuke tilts his head to the side.

‘In which you don’t know what’s real and what’s not.’ Iruka explains. You get all emotionally involved and then boom it was all a lie.

Then Itachi falls to the ground, clutching his eye. ‘You broke through… my Tsukuyomi?’

‘Take that! Of course, Sasuke would be able to!’ Ino cheers for her crush.

‘He did get trapped in it twice before.’ Shino points out. The hearts in Ino’s eyes disappear and she snorts at the boy.

‘Shut up.’

Slowly Sasuke stands back up. ‘Like I told you. No matter how much you use those eyes of yours, my hate will turn illusion into reality.’

‘Make illusions a reality, eh?’ Itachi recovers and stands back up. ‘Then let me throw those words right back at you.’

‘What’s going to happen next?’ Naruto is bouncing in his seat again. Is something real finally going to happen.

‘Patience.’ Sasuke hits the boy on his head. Naruto shoots a glare at the boy.

A small cut happens and then Itachi starts speaking again. ‘You saw your eyes gouged out during the Tsukuyomi just now. Well, allow me to make that a reality.’ Itachi puts his hands together in a sign. But Sasuke is quick to intercept with another giant shuriken. No wait scrap that, two of them. And that’s not all, he also uses his lighting chakra to power them up even more.

‘Fancy.’ Tenten snorts. To get such a weapon… well that does take up quite a bit.

‘That must cost quite a bit of money.’ Kakashi agrees with her. He had looked into getting one at some point, but didn’t once he saw the price tag. And since you’re bound to lose them… it’s simply not worth it.

‘Those things aren’t cheap.’ Jiraiya agrees. Especially chakra conducting ones.

‘Sasuke has the whole Uchiha inheritance to fall back on though.’ Sakura points out. The faces of the adults darken. No wonder. He has all the money of a clan spanning a couple hundred, that even on their own is better off than most in the financial aspect.

‘So, he’s rich?’ Shikaku grumbles. ‘Lucky him.’

Itachi is quick to dodge, moving his body just right to slip through the two of them. But Sasuke was prepared for that as well and uses the ninja wire attached to the weapons to set them off and fall apart. The parts of the weapon fling all around them. One of them lands in Itachi leg. And he promptly falls to the ground.

Sasuke smirks. His plan worked!

‘He got Itachi!’ Lee cheers. Things are about to get real.

‘Sasuke really got a lot stronger.’ Itachi stares in wonder. He’s able to hit his future self. That’s impressive.

Itachi glares at his brother, vision blurring.

Sasuke is still smirking. ‘Backlash from that earlier Tsukuyomi?’ he taunts. ‘I like that.’ Now it’s his turn to start weaving signs. ‘Fireball jutsu!’ he yells, and the classic fireball makes his way to Itachi.

‘Now he starts using fire.’ Fugaku doesn’t cheer out loud but inside he’s proud. He’s still an Uchiha.

‘Can’t you create lighting from fire attacks as well.’ Sakura is quick to point out. Fugaku sighs.

‘You could, it’s just not very easy.’

Itachi just manages to make it out. But Sasuke notices and readies the Chidori in his hands. He jumps up as well. And the next thing you know is that the roof gets busted.

Itachi flies out of the smoke and returns by weaving his own signs and shoots a fireball in Sasuke’s direction. He then lands on top of the roof. He waits for a bit for Sasuke. And when the smoke clears Sasuke is there with the strange arm like appendage protecting him from the fire.

‘Sasuke is hot and all but that arm is just creepy.’ Ino says. It’s all weird and gross. She doesn’t want to touch that ever in her life.

‘He should start acting in those horror movies. He’ll fit in nicely.’ Naruto laughs. Even though he hates ghosts he does like typical zombies and such. It’s a little strange but his birth month is October for a reason.

‘Naruto!’ Sasuke yells out.

Now they both start weaving signs for the fireball technique and their jutsu clash. It goes a bit back and forth before Sasuke manages to take the lead. Next thing the camera focusses on Itachi, who’s eye starts bleeding.

‘Is that normal?’ Kiba asks. It doesn’t look very normal.

‘It only happens if you strain your eyes too much.’ Mikoto knows. She’s had it happen a couple times and it’s an absolute pain! Blood sticks to your lashes and once dried is nearly impossible to get off. It hurts.

‘Then what is he doing?’ Why would he do that then?

‘Amaterasu.’ He says. And from within the fire black fire appears. It completely takes over the technique and approaches Sasuke. Sasuke notices but he doesn’t need to do anything. Itachi stops the technique before it can his him. But the previous fireball battle did stop.

‘That just looks overpowered.’ Naruto complains. Why doesn’t the Kyuubi come with such OP powers. That would make things a lot easier.

‘The mangekyo is overpowered.’ Shisui agrees. He doesn’t use it often though. Such power comes with a price.

Then Sasuke starts running to the side. Around and slowly makes his way to Itachi. Itachi follows him with his eyes and spouts flames in Sasuke’s direction. But because Sasuke is running he gets away just in time every time. Then he sets the surrounding area on fire in a trail to follow Sasuke. He gets closer every second and eventually hits the strange arm in Sasuke’s back.

Sasuke falls to the ground. He’s screaming in pain. The trees surrounding the building are on fire, burning steadily.

‘He’s been pretty careless.’ Hiashi points out.

‘Who?’ Fugaku won’t tolerate that man insulting any of his children.

‘Itachi. There are several things that I expected him to be able to dodge.’ The man explains. Several instances already that should have been a piece of cake for a ninja at Itachi’s caliber, especially in the future.

Fugaku doesn’t know how to respond to that, because he agrees. He doesn’t want to admit it though. ‘I can see where you’re coming from.’

‘And now he’s burning the surrounding area as well. If I didn’t know any better, I would say he’s short sighted.’ Hiashi continues his analysis.

Shikaku sighs. ‘Now that you mention it.’ That could be something to take note of.

Itachi pants as he approaches the fallen Sasuke. He stares at his brother and is about to reach out until Sasuke dissolves, leaving the area beneath him broken.

‘Ew. Gross.’ Ino doesn’t like slimy things like that. It reminds her of gross insects and stuff.

Sasuke is now back inside the building, he looks up at the hole he’s made. And smirks. Again, the strange markings cover his body and his hair grows. He makes another sign.

‘Why does it make his hair grow? I don’t get the science behind that.’ Itachi grumbles. What’s with the strange science in these fragments. Suddenly getting longer hair must get in the way.

‘That’s what you’re worried about?’ Shisui mutters but after staring at his friend for a bit he knows why. Itachi doesn’t want to think about the end of the fight. Since it would likely result in the death of either him or Sasuke.

Back on top of the roof Itachi coughs. Blood comes out of his mouth.

‘Why is he coughing up blood? Sasuke only hit him in the leg.’ Inoichi points out. If it was the gut he could understand, but the leg. That just doesn’t make any sense.

‘That is strange.’ Shikaku takes note. Something strange is going on with Itachi and he wants to get to the bottom of it.

Next thing Sasuke sends a wave of fire in Itachi’s direction. The ceiling he’s standing on breaks under the pressure. Itachi jumps out of the way just in time. But every time he lands another wave of fire erupts beneath his feet. The clouds above them begin to darken. Eventually the entire ceiling falls apart. Smoke covers the area. Itachi is still safe on top of the ceiling. But one of his eyes has changed pattern, it’s completely red with a pupil.

‘What does that mean?’ Naruto asks. He hasn’t seen it like that before.

‘To tell you the truth. I have no idea. I haven’t encountered that before.’ Fugaku takes note but can’t come up with anything. Such a thing would warrant a search through the clan archives.

He looks down at his brother and winces. Sasuke down on the ground is panting as well.

‘That Amaterasu earlier seems to have taken quite a toll on you.’ He says. He stumbles under the pressure. The markings over his body disappear and he turns back to normal. ‘This will probably be my last jutsu.’ He smirks.

‘What’s he going to do.’ Lee asks. He can feel the tension rising.

‘He’s going to go all out.’ Neji explains. He’s seen it once before from a cousin, it’s a guarantee of awesomeness.

Thunder could be heard in the distance as Itachi stares him down.

‘The sharingan can assess chakra. Stop bluffing. I can see that you’re out of chakra.’ Sasuke slowly stands up. ‘You evaded my Amaterasu using Orochimaru-style substitution jutsu. A well-made substitution to deceive, but it uses an enormous amount of chakra.’

‘What jutsu doesn’t require chakra?’ Iruka wonders. He never encountered once before and anything that could come to mind is a bloodline. But most of them use chakra as well.

‘A jutsu that uses the outside influences on the best of their ability.’ Kakashi explains.

‘You’ve used one before?’ Iruka turns to the man. He couldn’t have expected that.

‘No. I encountered someone once that was able to direct the water in a waterfall without using any chakra.’ He explains. The group is a little impressed but their attention is still on the screen.

Thunder keeps on rumbling around them.

‘You’re right. I don’t have any chakra left. I used it up in that last fire style jutsu.’ The rain starts pouring down around them. ‘However, do you really think I would come here to kill you unprepared?’ He’s smirking. ‘It will be instantaneous. This jutsu is just like Amaterasu. It is impossible to dodge. Now, as you wished, I’ll create… your death!’ The thunder flashes in the distance. Rain pours down on top of them. Sasuke looks at Itachi. ‘I obtained power and hatred, and now I’m here. Itachi! This is where you’ll die! By my hands!’ Thunder and lightning strike.

‘Sasuke is going to use the lighting in the sky, isn’t he?’ Iruka says. It’s no doubt going to be something powerful. The child inside of him can hardly wait.

‘That would make the most sense.’ Kakashi replies.

Then Itachi feels something. He looks up in surprise. Around the building electricity is gather in the lightning of the thunderstorm. It’s gathering above him. The brothers stare at each other. The flashes of lighting illuminate the area.

‘That looks shitty powerful.’ Shisui stares at the screen in awe. If only the Sasuke here could teach him that.

‘Language!’ Mikoto yells at the boy once again, and also sending a book at his head. Shisui dodges, which he shouldn’t have done cause another book hits him from behind. When did that happen?

Sasuke activates the Chidori in his hands. He jumps up on top of the ceiling, on top of the rods that reach into the sky. Lighting flashes around him. ‘This jutsu brings lightning down from the heavens. I merely direct its power toward you.’ Sasuke explains. He raises in hand towards the sky. ‘The name of this jutsu is ‘Kirin’.’

‘Kirin. I never heard of it before.’ Fugaku says.

‘Could it be a jutsu of Sasuke’s own creation?’ Hiashi suggests.

‘If it is, then he should be proud of himself.’ Fugaku nods in approval. Sasuke creating a jutsu like that… he could get on top of that.

Itachi looks up. Shocked by the power.

‘Come!’ Sasuke yells and the atmosphere changes. A dragon made of lightning descends down from the sky. Itachi gasps in surprise. ‘Vanish with the roar of thunder…’ Sasuke makes some motions with his hands and the dragon goes back up. Only to bold down at a magnificent speed as Sasuke puts down his hand.

‘Holy moly!’ some of the kids scream out. This is nothing they’ve seen before. It looks simply magnificent. They can only hope that in the future they are capable of using techniques like that as well.

‘This is awesome!’ Naruto cheers. This was what he’s been waiting for.

‘I wouldn’t want to be caught by that.’ Tsume states. She’s seen the damage lightning can to someone. This must hurt a lot.

‘Me neither.’ Inoichi shudders. He never liked these theatrics. He prefers doing the side jobs. It’s more his style.

Itachi is consumed by the light and the jutsu. The entire building explodes in the impact.

Sasuke is back on the ground, panting as he waits for the result. Itachi lays down on the ground, face down. Seemingly unmoving. The lightning in Sasuke’s hands disappears and his sharingan deactivates.

‘Is he dead?’ Naruto asks. His voice is soft to not offend anyone here.

‘A part of me hopes he is. Another doesn’t want it at all.’ Sasuke says. He can’t really imagine Itachi dying. Then again, he can’t imagine Itachi turning evil either.

‘Is this where I die?’ Itachi stares at the screen with his sharingan activated, as if to catch the details of his future demise.

‘It’s over.’ He mumbles as he falls to the ground. The ground around them is smoking.

Then the screen turns black.

‘Is this the death you wanted to recreate?’ Itachi asks. Sasuke opens his eyes in shock.

‘Oh fuck!’ Ino shouts out. She hadn’t been expecting that. It was pretty badass though.

‘Nope. He’s alive.’ Sasuke shudders. What’s going to happen to him now? If that was his last technique.

‘How in the world did he manage to survive that?’ Chouza asks. Lightning is one of the deadliest elements and here Itachi is still safe and breathing.

‘I can only think of one thing. Susanoo.’ Fugaku explains. His face darkens. He almost witnessed one of his children dying. No matter how cold he makes himself out to be it does hurt him quite a bit.

‘The same thing Madara used?’ Naruto asks.

‘Yes.’

Chanting could be heard in the background as Itachi slowly stands up. His arm is bruised, and blood comes from his mouth.

The strange pattern covers Sasuke’s body once more. ‘You!’ He screams. He thought he was finally done. His hair grows once again.

A red aura covers Itachi’s body. It’s the Susanoo. ‘Without this I would have been dead.’ He explains. He stands up. ‘You really have grown stronger.’ His eyes are pitch black, empty. ‘This time I shall show you my final trump card. The Susanoo.’

‘Yours is red. The opposite color of mine.’ Shisui points out. Trying to lighten the mood somewhat.

‘Red and green are complementary colors.’ Hiashi snuffs. ‘Poetic.’

Sasuke looks in shock. ‘Susanoo?’

‘When these two powers awakened, one more jutsu took root in my eyes. Sasuke, is that it for your jutsu?’ Itachi asks. ‘If you are hiding another power, don’t hold back.’ Lighting gets through the dark clouds. ‘The real battle is only beginning.’

‘You sure about that? Why? You look like you won’t be able to walk over to Sasuke.’ Shino points out.

Shikamaru nods. ‘He doesn’t look good. That’s for sure.’ It would be amazing if he managed to walk like that.

‘Sasuke is in the same boat.’ Chouji is quick to point out.

Sasuke is shaking in his seat. He wants his mother now. He looks at her and she opens her arms. He makes his way over and settles down in her lap. He feels safer here. Itachi watches with jealousy. How he wished he could do the same thing.

Tendrils appear from within the Susanoo and begin to form the armor surrounding it.

‘What’s the matter?’ Itachi asks. Sasuke is not moving. ‘Have you used up your chakra and run out of options?’

‘What?’ Sasuke yells but immediately after he winces. There is a strain on his body. He falls to the ground. A couple snakes appear from his back, it doesn’t look like it’s what Sasuke wants to do.

‘What in the world is happening now?’ Tenten shudders. Something strange is going on with all these snakes. She doesn’t trust snakes. They’re toxic.

‘What did Orochimaru do to you?’ Mikoto murmurs soft enough that Sasuke isn’t able to pick up on it.

‘From the looks of it. This is Orochimaru’s eight-headed serpent jutsu.’ Itachi stares at the creature. Itachi steps forward and the two giants reach for each other. Susanoo effortlessly cuts off some of the heads of the creature.

Another strange cut happens.

Now the snake creature is being absorbed by the Susanoo. Leaving Sasuke bare and half naked.

‘Why was that cut?’ Lee asks.

Shikamaru shrugs. ‘Only number knows.’

‘This is it Sasuke.’ Itachi states. The cut off heads disappear in smoke. Itachi is panting and starts coughing up more blood.

‘Now it makes a little more sense for him to start coughing blood.’ Inoichi says. But he’s still not convinced that it’s because of the injuries from the fight.

‘I still think it’s strange.’ Shikaku agrees with him. Something is up with Itachi and he doesn’t know what. But he also doesn’t want to worry the parents.

Sasuke is panting as well.

‘Now… your eyes are mine. I think I’ll take my time to retrieve them.’ Then another surge of something happens and Itachi coughs up even more blood. The armor disappears from the Susanoo. Sasuke swings his sword at it. But Itachi is still able to block it.

‘Something is up with Itachi.’ Neji is able to pick up on it as well. He’s heard of the boy before and what he’s seeing now is strong, yes, but he was expecting better.

‘Did he fight another battle before this?’ Tsume wonders out loud.

‘Doesn’t look like it. His clothes were pristine.’ Chouza points out.

Itachi makes his way over to Sasuke, slowly and stumbling. It’s like he’s not even looking where he’s going.

‘I agree with Hiashi now. It does look like he’s short sighted.’ Fugaku doesn’t like it one bit.

‘Could be the effects of the mangekyo?’ Shisui suggests. It’s the most likely option.

Sasuke sends a kunai with a couple tags attached in the direction of the young man. But the Susanoo is able to block that as well. Itachi continues his walk over to Sasuke. Sasuke stumbles backwards.

‘They’re my eyes… Mine…’ Itachi raises his hand.

‘Sheesh. That’s creepy.’ Sakura mutters. She doesn’t really know what to think about the fight. Something doesn’t quite sit right with her. It doesn’t diminish her crush on Sasuke in the slightest but… something is not right.

Sasuke takes out another sword and launches himself at Itachi but this gets reflected as well. He falls backward onto the ground. Right up against a wall. He can’t move away any more.

‘He’s trapped.’ Ino nearly yells. Is this the end?

‘I thought Sasuke was going to make it out alive?’ Lee says. After all, he did not have the rinnegan yet.

Itachi raises his hand even more. He reaches out to Sasuke. Sasuke realizes he’s not able to escape any more. Itachi’s hand goes for his face. He mumbles something, but Sasuke is not able to hear it. Itachi smiles.

‘Why is he smiling?’ Sasuke asks. He’s terrified. Something is wrong. He clenches his eyes shut and leans even more into his mother’s embrace.

‘Something is up.’ Neji narrows his eyes. Like many of the others he noticed that something is wrong. He doesn’t know what. But something.

Sasuke stares in shock. Itachi’s hand reaches his face and touches his forehead, like he always did. Then he falls down, his hand leaving a streak of blood. Itachi falls head first into the wall. He’s dead. On the ground.

‘That’s it?’ Naruto says, a little dumbfounded.

‘What… just happened?’ Kiba is just as taken aback as Naruto. And they’re not the only ones. Most of the people did not expect it to end that way.

Sasuke is panting. No doubt the experience must be a bit much. It’s starts to rain again. That’s where the scene ends.

‘Wow.’ Nothing much is said.

‘That’s how I die…’ Itachi sniffles a couple times. There are no tears in his eyes but it’s obvious how the experience is affecting him.

Shisui puts his hand on his shoulder. ‘Don’t worry. We’ll make sure you won’t go insane here.’

‘…’

‘That was certainly something.’ Hiashi states.

‘It must be strange. Watching your own death.’ Tsume agrees. She’s just happy that up until now there are no hints to either her or her family dying. It’s a relief.

‘Seeing that you died versus watching your own death. Both are terrible but there must be something different about it.’ Inoichi says. He sighs. The part of his brain that like to investigate things like that is being forcefully suppressed for now.

‘I think we could all use a break now.’ The hokage says. And they all nod.

Added notes:

- Itachi dies before Sasuke gets rinnegan
- Sasuke has the dopest jutsu in Kirin
- Something strange happened with Itachi

After a little bit they sit down again. ‘Are we going to watch more? Or shall we keep it at this today?’ Iruka asks, he turns to the Uchiha family in particular.

‘I… don’t know.’ Sasuke begins. ‘I don’t feel like watching anymore but I do want to go to bed with a good feeling.’

‘I think we’ll keep it at this for now.’ The Hokage concludes and they all go for their bed. They could use a bit of sleep after the happenings for the day.

Chapter Text

The next day the group takes their seats once again. After the somber end to the last night they have come back for a slightly more hopeful viewing this time. They take some food to eat and go sit down at their seats.

‘What do you think we’ll see next?’ Naruto is bouncing in his seat. He’s excited for another day of watching the future. And it better has him doing something really cool in it.

‘I hope it isn’t sad.’ Sasuke, who’s right next to him, says. He’s still a little sad from what they watched the previous day.

‘It’d better be something cool!’ Lee agrees with Naruto. The sad scenes are a little sad. But the good scenes surely make up for it.

‘Like what?’ Sakura asks. She’s a little depressed from the previous day as well.

‘A really awesome battle!’ Both Naruto and Lee scream out.

They all turn to look at the screen. The screen lights up once more. This time the words ‘A little suspicious’ appear on the screen.

‘What could that mean?’ Ino wonder out loud.

Neji sighs. ‘To be honest. Everything. We’re ninja. Suspicious is part of the job.’

The scene starts with a young boy standing in a forest. The trees around him are big and tall, the boy looks even smaller next to them. The boy seems to be fiddling around with the hand signs, a little unsure. Then something passes him by. He looks around but can’t find anything yet. It’s that same boy they saw with Ashura before.

‘Them again.’ Naruto points out. They’ve seen him before. Even though that has been quite a while already.

‘Which means we’re way back in the past again.’ Sasuke agrees. There is this strange part of him that’s intensely invested in these people. Something about him intrigues him.

Then a creepy voice starts speaking. ‘So, it was you… You inherited Mother’s powers!’

‘Who’s that?’ Ino asks. She has never heard a voice as creepy as that. Only in cartoons on the tv do people have voices like that. It’s just so stereotypical. But also, really scary.

‘I have no idea.’ Kakashi says. He’s suspicious as well. ‘Before you ask I doubt anyone knows what powers he’s talking about either.’

The boy keeps looking around but can’t see anything. ‘Who’s there?’ He yells. ‘Come out!’

The wind blows past. ‘I’ll always be watching you.’ It truly sounds like the one speaking is smiling. In a creepy sort of way.

‘Stranger danger!’ Kiba shouts. He’s heard the stories and if you encounter a person like that you have to tell your parents. And then the police. Because that’s just not alright.

‘Ghost alert.’ Rock Lee shouts more as a joke.

Not a second later Naruto’s face whitens. ‘Ghosts!’ And he hides himself under the desk.

Sasuke grabs the boy’s T-shirt and pulls him back up. ‘Naruto. That was a joke.’

Then the screen goes black.

When it turns back the boy is standing within the forest once again. He’s wiping the sweat of his face. Then he turns around and throws some knives. ‘Are you there?’ He yells.

‘I’m so happy that you sensed my presence!’ The creep says. The tree begins to morph, and a shady creature appears. His body is covered in clothes but still something about him doesn’t quite seem human.

‘Is he even human?’ Sakura says. Those eyes don’t look like human eyes. They’re way to round for that.’

‘Uh… maybe?’ Hinata isn’t quite sure either. She as well as most other people in the room stare at the screen with confusion. What could this creature be? And what is it planning.

‘He’s a creep. Creeps can hardly be considered human to begin with.’ Sasuke huffs.

‘I was speaking on a biological level.’ Sakura explains while hitting the boy on his head.

Sasuke’s eyes widen. Sakura hit him… ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘What do you want.’ The boy yells again. ‘Why do you keep following me?’

The creep starts speaking. ‘You will grow strong. You have the desire, potential, and talent for Ninshu. But…’ The creature starts walking. ‘You’re still not aware of your true power.’

‘What could it be?’ Naruto voices the question they’re all thinking.

Shikamaru is the one that replies. ‘My guess… a hidden ability.’

‘Like a bloodline limit?’ Chouji asks his friend. He’s still eating his eternal breakfast.

Shikamaru nods. ‘That could very well be. This is the beginning of people using chakra after all.’ But what could be so special a bloodline limit. So special that that creature wants it.

‘My ‘true power?’’ The boy has every right to sound confused.

‘An even greater power lies dormant inside you. But there is one condition for awakening that power.’ The creature continues to talk. Something doesn’t quite sound right. As the creature starts giggling to himself.

‘The way to awaken the power is probably going to be something bad.’ Chouza mutters. He knows the signs when he sees them.

‘Power comes at a price. That seems to be a rule of sorts.’ Fugaku agrees. It’s the case with the sharingan and many other techniques. Power requires sacrifice, and it only depends on whether you want to pay the price. Though it’s not always in the control of the one attaining the power.

‘Who are you?’ The boy yells. ‘How do you know that?’

‘That’s actually a good question.’ Itachi points out. ‘Does he have the ability to look inside DNA or something?’ How else could the creature know about the abilities hidden inside one’s blood.

‘Maybe it’s just genetics.’ Shisui shrugs.

‘It doesn’t matter. If you awaken your power,’ The creature looks up at the moon in the sky, even though it’s day outside, ‘My wish will come true one day.’ Then the creature looks back at the boy. ‘Well, never mind about that. We were talking about awakening you power, weren’t we? Do you want to know?’

‘His wish… I have a feeling it has to do with the moon.’ Neji deduces.

Tenten laughs. ‘We could have figured that out ourselves.’ It was plain as day on the screen. A couple others join in with laughing as well. Neji’s cheeks redden a little in embarrassment.

The boy looks back. He doesn’t say anything but it’s clear he’s curious.

‘Oh no. He’s falling for the trap.’ Sasuke mutters. He would have fallen for it too. Who doesn’t want the power.

Then Naruto speaks up. ‘Don’t you guys think he’s a little like Sasuke?’

‘What are you talking about?’ Ino blinks a couple times. She doesn’t see it. Sasuke is way cooler than that guy. Even though he’s plenty cute himself.

‘I don’t see it.’ Itachi agrees with her. Sasuke is a bit more… anti-people.

‘Just… I got this feeling. He and Sasuke are alike.’ Naruto mutters. It makes sense in his mind. Why doesn’t anyone else see it?

‘What do you think Sasuke?’ Ino decides to ask the boy.

Sasuke is staring at the screen intently, like he’s in a daze. ‘I think I know him from somewhere.’ He doesn’t know from where. But he’s sure he’s seen that face before. Even before they’ve seen him the first time on the screen.

‘That doesn’t explain anything.’

‘It has nothing to do with training, you know.’ The boy looks surprised. What could this creature be talking about. ‘You must lose love.’ The screen focusses on the creature’s face, even though it’s largely obscured. Only the big round yellow eyes stand out.

‘This is going to be pretty bold. But I have a feeling we already know what he’s talking about.’ Shikaku says. Knowing the trends with this robot it probably has something to do with the Uchiha. It makes the most sense. They are always up in anything. Even if you don’t expect them to have anything to do with it.

‘You think?’ Inoichi blinks a couple times. He trusts his friend but sometimes he doesn’t get what he’s thinking.

‘What do you mean?’ The boy stares back. Ashura appears on screen.

‘Like having a person, you love, die.’ The creature says. The picture of Ashura burns up. ‘Let’s test it out.’ Now on the creatures face a smile appears, unnaturally big.

‘No! Don’t hurt Ashura!’ Naruto shouts. He likes Ashura. Even though he hasn’t appeared a lot. He seems like a cool guy.

‘He doesn’t deserve that!’ Sakura agrees with him.

‘What are you going to do?’ The boy yells back. The creature disappears into the ground. ‘Wait!’ Then realization hits him. ‘Ashura!’ He looks back.

The next shot is of Ashura flying through the trees to get away from a boar. The boar in question seems rather powerful, being both bigger and stronger than normal. Eventually the boar knocks down one of the trees the boy is standing on and he falls to the ground.

‘Oh no. Please let him get there on time.’ Mikoto mumbles. Seeing another death on screen won’t do the kids good. That’s for sure. They could stand to stay kids for a little longer.

The boar hits the boy straight in the chest, it doesn’t damage him too much, luckily. The boar walks a couple steps forward. Until somebody shouts from the distance.

‘Ashura!’ The older boy shouts.

‘Nii-san?’ Ashura watches with amazement.

‘He made it!’ Naruto cheers. This elder brother guy is pretty cool. If only he had a sibling like that.

‘Good thing. That boar is creepy.’ Sasuke agrees. That boars seems a little familiar as well. But then again there are plenty living in the forests, he’s probably got it confused with one of the ones he saw there.

‘Did boars really used to be that big in the past?’ Ino wonders. She’s never seen one that big before.

‘I have a feeling that shady creature might have had something to do with it.’ Her father explains. No boar would continue the chase like that.

‘Hurry, go!’ The older tells his younger brother. ‘How dare you do this to my younger brother!’ He makes some signs and lightning starts forming around his hand. He runs at the boar and the boar runs toward him as well.

‘Is that a precursor to the Chidori?’ Iruka wonders. He looks at Kakashi who’s staring at the screen as well.

‘If it is then I have to agree with Naruto. Then he is a lot like Sasuke.’ Kakashi can guess. One doesn’t use a technique like that so often, except Sasuke.

Lightning covers the area. The older boy holds out his hand, but it looks like his attack missed. The stumbles for a bit. But it’s the boar that falls over.

‘Yes!’ The kids cheer. The boar has been defeated.

A small cut later Ashura is standing next to his brother. ‘Brother, your eyes!’ he tells the older one.

‘It’s going to be the sharingan. Isn’t it?’ Shino says.

‘Knowing everything that has been revealed so far I have to agree.’ Shikamaru smirks. He can already see it happen.

The older boy takes one of the knives and looks at himself. He seems surprised by what he finds. It’s the sharingan. ‘This is…’ Then he sees the face of the creepy shadow figure and runs at it.

‘What did I just say.’ Shino says. Nobody really pays him any mind.

‘That means that he and Ashura are Uchiha.’ Now the Uchiha’s in the room are looking at their ancestors. This is really cool.

‘But they don’t seem to be familiar with the eyes.’ Itachi states. Could it be that before that episode they hadn’t discovered the eyes yet?

‘Not that they’re exactly surprised either.’ Inoichi points out. One would think that after seeing odd eyes like that for the first time they would be a little more freaked out.

‘That’s a little odd.’

‘Nii-san?’ Ashura doesn’t quite know what to think.

The older of the two boys runs through the forest until he eventually reaches a clearing. ‘I know you’re there!’ The boy shouts. ‘What did you do?’

‘He really doesn’t seem to be familiar with the sharingan.’ Fugaku stares at the screen.

‘All Uchiha know about it.’ Mikoto agrees with her husband. There are so many stories about the eyes that an Uchiha that hasn’t heard of the sharingan is impossible.

‘That’s why it’s strange he doesn’t.’

Shisui interrupts the conversation. ‘Well, somebody had to be the first.’

‘Does that mean he’s the founder of the clan? Like in the stories.’ Sasuke looks at his parents for the answer.

‘He did use lightning, so it could very well be.’

The figure appears behind him but quickly disappears again. ‘Oh nothing.’ The creature says. ‘That’s your true power. From now on, you’ll use those eyes to see the truth.’ The creature says but he’s too much of a coward to come out.

The wind starts to blow. ‘See you later.’ The creature says before disappearing again. This is how the scene ends.

‘That’s not a good sign.’ Neji mutters. He’s gotten over his earlier embarrassment.

‘It’s as if that creature is trying to use that boy.’ Hiashi agrees with his nephew. He knows manipulation when he sees it. He’s very trained at spotting it with those elders that try to get him to do certain things all the time.

‘It really does look that way.’

---

‘I’m upset.’ Shisui mumbles. His pen is still touching the paper, but he isn’t writing anything down.

‘Why?’ Itachi stares at his friend.

‘We still don’t know that boy’s name.’ Shisui shouts. If only he had a name, then note taking would be a lot easier.

‘Nothing in your clan record either?’ Shikaku asks. They know this got to be a couple centuries in the past but maybe something could have survived.

‘We usually refer to him as the storm god.’ Itachi explains. ‘He’s a prominent figure in the religion.’ They have to pray to the gods a couple times a year and he’s one of them.

‘No name?’

‘I guess it has been forgotten in time.’ Fugaku explains. There might be another fragment that’ll give them the answer.

‘Well what’s next?’ Naruto is up in his seat hoping to get the best view of the next scene.

The screen lights up once more. ‘The bijuu counting song.’ Appears on the screen.

‘Does this mean this is going to be music?’ Sakura asks.

‘Shh. I wanna hear.’ She gets shushed by the others.

This scene starts with the beating of some drums. On the beat strings of lanterns appear one by one.

Then a chibi Naruto appears to be beating one of the drums. ‘Tailed beast counting song! All right, here we go!’

‘It’s Naruto singing…’ Sasuke winces. ‘This is going to be awful.’

‘Hey!’ Said boy shouts from the seat next to him.

‘No, I agree. Naruto you can’t sing.’ Iruka cuts in before the conversation will derail. Once they had to sing in front of the class and Naruto’s voice stuck out. And not in the good way.

‘Hmpf.’

Then Naruto starts singing, actually singing. ‘One, ‘sleep is better than humans,’ says Shukaku.’ Said tailed beast appears on screen. Not a second later Gaara appears as well.

‘Gaara!’ Ino cheers. She still likes that guy.

‘Does this mean we’ll see the jinchuuriki as well?’ Now Naruto was getting excited. These people did have something in common with him.

‘Probably.’ The Hokage notes. He turns to look at Shisui. ‘Take note of that.’

Then the Niibi appears with Yugito. ‘Two, burning in fire, Matatabi.’

‘Poor Yugito.’ Sakura slumps down while remembering what had happened to her.

Tenten agrees with the girl. ‘She didn’t deserve to die.’ She would love to see her kick more ass. There aren’t a lot of girls who can.

Then water floods the screen as they move onto the next beast. ‘Three, leave the water to Isobu.’ The Sanbi appears on screen together with what they can only assume is the Mizukage.

‘That’s one weird turtle.’ Chouji mutters. Most turtles he’s seen don’t look like that at all. It’s as if someone went ham on the design.

‘From what I’ve gathered the tailed beasts look a little odd.’ Shikamaru tells his friend.

‘Kurama looked decently normal.’ Naruto says.

‘He has a human torso.’ Shikamaru argues back. It takes Naruto a couple seconds to reply.

‘Good point.’

Then the Yonbi appears on screen. ‘Four, hot as lava, Son Goku.’ Not much later what they can only assume is his jinchuuriki appears as well.

‘He can spout lava?’ Sasuke stares at the screen with wide eyes.

‘Yes, he can.’ The Hokage tells him. He once watched the Yonbi fight. It was magnificent and hot.

‘That’s even stronger than fire.’

‘Five, always on the run, Kokuo.’ The beast in question appears on screen with it’s jinchuuriki. The beast is a little strange looking as it’s face seems a little illogical to be true.

‘What animal is that?’ Sakura asks. She hasn’t seen anything that looks like that before. Nothing even comes close.

‘Uh… I don’t know.’ Now the other kids wonder as well. None of them can make anything out of it.

‘It looks like a horse, but the head doesn’t.’ Kiba says. He too is really confused by the creature. He thought animals would make sense.

‘Maybe it’s some sort of ancient creature?’ Lee suggests.

‘I doubt it.’

Bubbles appear on screen. ‘Six, taking it easy and not in a hurry, Saiken.’ The beast and a man with his chest almost on display appear on screen.

‘Slimy.’ Naruto can already feel the slime on his fingers. It reminds him of the time that he accidently turned paint into slime. That was gross and a pain to clean up.

‘Bubbles.’ Ino cheers.

‘Acidic bubbles. Don’t touch them.’ Her father interrupts. He’s heard of the powers of the bijuu before and they’re all dangerous.

‘What happens if we do?’

‘Your skin would melt.’

Then the group suddenly isn’t as excited anymore. ‘Gross.’

‘Seven, the flying leaf insect, Chomei.’ A strange insect like creature appears on the screen. Then a young girl who’s most likely the jinchuuriki appears as well.

‘She looks like fun.’ Shisui says. ‘The insect is still creepy.’ What can he say. Insect close up freak him out.

‘Apologize to Shino.’ Naruto stares him down. In his opinion insects are amazing.

Then the good old Killer B appears together with the Hachibi. ‘Eight, ‘Yeah!’ is all it needs, Gyuki.’

‘The famous Oxtopus.’ Shino says.

‘Famous?’ Naruto didn’t know Shino knew about it.

‘Look in the newspapers from the war. He got mentioned pretty often.’ The boy explains. At least he tries to.

‘Who would look in newspapers?’ Naruto wouldn’t. They always have complicated words and extreme bias. That doesn’t make him happy.

Then Naruto starts singing a little louder. ‘Nine, ‘ko-kon’ cries the mighty Kurama.’ The Kyuubi together with Naruto appear on the screen.

‘Naruto sounds happier now.’ Hinata mumbles. She’s smiling. She loves seeing Naruto happy. Maybe one day she can make him happy.

‘It’s probably because it’s his own bijuu.’ Sasuke tries to explain but he gets a shove from Naruto not a second later.

‘All the tailed beasts have finally come together.’ Naruto sings as the screen rotates around the beasts. ‘They’re a little hard, but they’re nice names.’ The bijuu appear to be a little younger than they currently are, but it could also be the style they’re drawn in. ‘They’re all splendid names. They’re all wonderful names.’

‘I think the names are a little stupid actually.’ Kakashi says. Iruka looks at the guy.

‘As if yours isn’t.’

‘Touché.’

Naruto appears once again drumming. In the background there are a couple others going along as well. Namely, Shikamaru, Hinata, Sakura, and Rock Lee. They’re just like Naruto drumming along. ‘Next up, the Jinchuuriki. Here we go!’

Gaara appears on the screen with Shukaku stylishly in the background. ‘One, with the terrible bags under his eyes, Gaara.’

‘That’s not very nice.’ Sakura looks at Naruto. Naruto hides behind Sasuke.

Sasuke is the one that ends up replying. ‘Well it does sound like they are friends. So, it’s probably not meant to be offensive.’ He makes fun of Naruto all the time as well.

‘Two, with a silky voice like a cat, Yugito.’ She’s on screen as well as the beast.

‘Yep. We know about her already.’ Kiba can’t wait to see the new ones. They have to be awesome as well.

Then the Mizukage appears. He looks a little young, and not at all bloodthirsty as he supposedly is. ‘Three, the fourth Mizukage, Yagura.’

‘Is this guy really the Mizukage. He looks like a genin.’ Shisui says. He’s never seen the guy before, but he’s heard plenty of tales. He’s supposed to be super cruel and all. Yet Naruto here introduces him like he’s someone pretty cool. What could possibly be going on here?

‘Itachi does too.’ Jiraiya says. Itachi pouts from his seat.

‘I think the Mizukage is supposed to be a little older.’ Shisui defends his friend.

‘Four, together for forty years, Four Tails and Roshi.’ Naruto sings as the man from before appears on the screen. He looks his age with that red beard. He’s also from Iwa just like Deidara.

‘Anyone know this guy?’ Chouza asks. He looks decently old, but he has never heard of the man before.

‘I think I saw him once in the war. Never actually got to talk to him.’ Inoichi explains. It was after one of the big fights on the battlefield, when everyone went to reclaim their possessions.

Then a man in red armor appears on screen. From his looks you can see that he probably doesn’t talk much. His face is mostly covered but not as bad as Kakashi does it. ‘Five, though and powerful, Han.’

‘He looks like the silent type.’ Iruka says. He’s seen hundreds of kids before. He can recognize when someone is of the silent variety.

‘That’s probably why no one has ever heard of him before.’ Kakashi explains.

‘Six, reserved and dressed in a kimono, Utakata.’ How Naruto describes him is pretty accurate. His face he doesn’t show however. A shame because he’s probably handsome, as many of the ninja are.

‘He doesn’t look like the social type either.’ Naruto points out. Maybe that’s what he should be. Maybe then people will like him. It works for Sasuke.

‘With the treatment jinchuuriki tend to get most of them aren’t.’ The Hokage explains. It’s something he wished he could have done something about.

‘Right.’

Then a young girl, probably around Naruto’s age from the show, appears. She has mint green hair and probably a fun personality. ‘Seven, the heart-warming kunoichi, Fuu.’

‘I don’t think heart-warming is supposed to be a ninja trait.’ Neji points out. They’re supposed to be ruthless killers. Not all those ‘friendship is magic’ kind of things.

‘It could be if you make the hearts extra hot.’ Naruto counteracts.

‘That’s not what they meant with that.’ Iruka sighs. He should teach Naruto better. Somethings just go in one ear and out the other.

Then Killer B appears on screen with all his stage presence. ‘Eight, he’s got crazy rap skills, Killer Bee.’ They don’t know about his rapping, but they’ll take Naruto’s word for it.

‘Everyone heard of him before.’ Shisui laughs. He actually got one of the man’s signatures as a joke gift. He still doesn’t know the story behind that.

‘His… demeanor is well known.’ Hiashi relents. He too has heard of the famous troublemaker before.

Then Naruto starts singing a little louder once again. Probably because he’s self-absorbed or something. ‘Nine, the leaf’s Naruto Uzumaki.’ Naruto is on screen appearing more serious that he probably is half the time.

‘And there is the goofball we all love.’ Sasuke smiles.

‘You love me?’ Naruto’s eyes are wide. Clearly taken aback by what Sasuke just said.

‘Not in that way.’ Sasuke gives him a shove. ‘Maybe Hinata does.’ Then it’s the girls turn to blush.

The camera starts rotating once again but this time chibi versions of the jinchuuriki are there as well. ‘All the powerful jinchuuriki have finally come together. Can they become friends with the tailed beasts?’ Who knows. They might. ‘They’re all splendid shinobi. They’re all wonderful shinobi.’

‘They look so cute like that.’ Iruka stares. He wants to squish them between his hands.

‘I think Sasuke would be even cuter.’ Itachi mutters. He hasn’t seen him yet. Why isn’t Sasuke there?

‘I think you would be really cute.’ Shisui says to his friend, in a platonic way.

‘Let’s not debate on who will be the cutest. That’s not relevant.’ Hiashi interrupts the conversation. He did not like where it was going.

‘I think it is.’

There are some close ups of all the beasts and their jinchuuriki and then finally the song ends with Naruto and friends doing a proper bow.

‘That was fun.’ Naruto is satisfied. This song wasn’t sad, or depressing, or anything bad. It was fun and simple. They didn’t have to think too much. He likes that.

‘And it actually told us quite a bit.’ Shisui taps his pen down onto the desk. He has to get another paper because the current one is filled.

‘Now we know who we’ll have to protect in the future.’ Itachi agrees with his friend.

‘Though I do think that many of them should be plenty capable of protecting themselves and in cases even have national protection from the Kage, if they aren’t Kage themselves.’ Shikamaru explains.

‘Those Akatsuki people aren’t to be underestimated.’ Chouji adds.

Added notes:

Ashura and his brother are Uchiha

Strange creature that has a dream which is probably bad news, he also has a thing for torture and the sharingan

The jinchuuriki are:

1. Gaara, mr. Kazekage
2. Yugito
3. Yagura, mr. Mizukage
4. Roshi
5. Han
6. Utakata
7. Fuu
8. Killer B
9. Naruto

The Bijuu have some confusing names as well

‘What’s up next?’ Lee hopes that the next thing they’ll see is another battle. And it better be one of the fun ones. Like that one with Temari and Shikamaru. That was a fun one.

The screen lights up. Now the words ‘the demon of the hidden mist’ are displayed.

‘Demon of the hidden mist… Isn’t that one of the seven swordsmen?’ Iruka wonder out loud.

‘Not Kisame. That we know.’ Itachi replies. They already know about Kisame.

‘There are still plenty others.’

Chapter Text

The scene starts with a young Sasuke and a masked boy attacking each other. They hit each other but nobody gets hurt yet.

‘Sasuke again!’ Ino cheers. She’s always happy to see her favorite boy on the screen.

‘I wonder who the other guy is.’ Sakura hums.

Then a man with a little more face showing than Kakashi, he uses bandages, appears on the screen. He can keep up with Haku’s speed.

‘Who’s that?’ Naruto asks as he points to the screen.

‘He’s from the mist. More than that I do not know. At least the other boy is called Haku.’ Kakashi explains. The man’s face is a little familiar, but a name doesn’t come to mind.

Then it’s Kakashi’s turn to appear on the screen. ‘Sakura! We have to cover Tazuna. Take that side and stay close! Let Sasuke handle Haku!’

‘Yes sir!’ Sakura shouts back. She’s standing right next to a man that must be this Tazuna person.

‘Where’s Naruto?’ Hinata asks. The rest of the team is there. Just not her crush Naruto.

‘Good question.’ Kiba blinks a couple times. He didn’t notice that Naruto was missing.

The masked boy appears on the screen. ‘I don’t want to have to kill you, but… you probably won’t leave quietly, will you?’

Sasuke smirks. ‘Don’t be stupid.’

‘Go! Sasuke!’ The girls in the audience cheer. Sasuke is good looking and with such a smirk the ladies can’t help but swoon. Though each for other reasons.

‘Just as I thought… however you won’t be able to match my speed for long and I’ve laid the groundwork for two attacks.’ The boy explains.

‘Two attacks?’ Sasuke asks. He might as well get as much information as he can.

‘Do you seriously think he’ll explain?’ Neji reprimands the boy in question.

Sasuke shrugs. ‘It’s worth a try.’

‘Firstly, there’s the water splashed all around us. Secondly, I’ve trapped one of your hands with parrying this move which leaves you only one hand free to defend yourself from my attacks!’ Then with one hand the boy starts making signs.

‘He did explain…’ Neji feels the need to plunge his head into his palms. He doesn’t. He has an image to uphold.

Sasuke is a little shocked. With just one hand he’s…

‘Secret art of water. The thousand stinging needles of death!’ The boy says and the water around them starts rising, forming needles in the sky.

Sasuke starts focusing on himself. Gotta remember the training. Summon all of the chakra energy you can and focus it in my feet. Not a second later Sasuke flies up into the air. He just manages to dodge the attack.

‘Yes!’ Naruto and Ino cheer. Even if Naruto doesn’t want it to be known that he does support Sasuke. He can’t help but be taken with what’s shown on the screen.

‘I wonder what they’re fighting about.’ Sakura says. She has her hands on her chin.

‘They seem to be protecting someone. But that doesn’t seem like a very genin type mission. These guys look a little too strong.’ Itachi narrows his eyes. Even he might struggle a bit. Those people did look strong.

‘I can’t disagree with that.’

The masked boy looks around for the sign of Sasuke. Then he notices an attack focused on him. Several shuriken are aimed at him. With a couple of jumps he is able to dodge them all. Haku grunts. ‘You’re not that fast.

Then Sasuke appears behind him, smirking. ‘Now, you’re the one who has to worry about defending yourself from my attacks.’ Then Sasuke rushes forward for the hit. Haku dodges the first one and then the next one. Until eventually he does get hit and he stumbles backwards.

The man in the bandages looks surprised. Haku is actually losing a battle of speed?

‘Take that strange mummy man!’ Naruto yells.

Sasuke tilts his head to the side. ‘Mummy?’

‘You know with those bandages.’ Naruto’s face turns red. Iruka did tell him once that he was too quick to give people nicknames. It’s a little embarrassing.

Sasuke smirks once again. ‘You’re fast. I’m faster.’

‘You had that coming for underestimating my team and for name-calling. He may not look like much but Sasuke here is the top-rated rookie from tall of Konoha village and Sakura here is our sharpest mind.’

Sakura smiles from the sidelines. A strange figure appears behind her, with inner Sakura written on her forehead. That’s for sure! The strange figure says.

‘What in the world is that?’ Tenten blinks a couple times. Did she see that correctly?

‘That’s my inner.’ Sakura explains. There is a trace of a slight blush on her cheeks.

‘Inner?’ Now Inoichi is interested. He has never heard of that phenomenon before.

‘She’s like me but on the inside. She helps me sometimes.’ Sakura smiles. Inner could be annoying, but she does help a lot with her confidence.

‘That doesn’t sound very normal.’

‘And last but not least. Let’s not forget our own comedy ninja, the most unpredictable ninja. The one and only Naruto!’

‘So, Naruto is there?’ Kiba doesn’t get it. Is Naruto fighting someone else? If so why isn’t he on the screen.

‘I don’t see him.’ Lee agrees with Kiba.

‘Knowing him he might have overslept or something.’ Sasuke snorts. It happened plenty of times before. Naruto stumbling late into something has become a bit of a joke.

‘Hey!’ Naruto yells. It’s not like he has someone to wake him up every day. Not to mention that alarm clock of his somehow always ended up in pieces after he woke up, it’s got to be some sort of ghost that does it.

The man with the bandages and the HUGE sword on his back starts snickering. Sasuke looks a little surprised. ‘Haku. Do you understand if this goes on you could end dying at the hands of the very person you sought to spare?’

‘Could he be one of the seven swordsmen?’ Itachi asks. They had seen Kisame before and he also carried such a large sword around.

‘That sword does look like Kubikiribocho.’ The Hokage confirms. He’s seen all of the swords before during one of many diplomatic meetings.

Sasuke looks at the fallen boy. Why does the air suddenly feel so cold?

‘Cold?’ Sasuke tilts his head to the side. Why does it get cold?

Haku stands up and the air around him seems to be cooling. ‘What a pity.’ And he once again forms a sign. The water behind Sasuke starts to rise. ‘Secret art of water: Ice crystal magic mirror technique!’ and the water around Sasuke crystalizes into ice mirrors that surround the boy. There is no space to escape.

‘He has a bloodline limit!’ Chouza says as he grabs a large hand of chips and puts it in his mouth.

‘That could be scary.’ Inoichi wonders how these kids would handle that situation. It’s not often you fight against someone with ice powers.

‘Yeah. Ice fucking hurts.’ Shisui puts his head on the stack of paper beside him. Not that he could relax as not a second later Mikoto hits him on the head.

‘Language!’

Kakashi watches on. I don’t know this technique.

‘That’s extra scary.’ Tenten mutters. If even someone like Kakashi doesn’t know it… who knows what it does.

Haku walks up to one of the mirrors and enters it. Then all of a sudden there is a copy of him in each and every one of these mirrors. It’s really hard to see which one is the real one.

Meanwhile the bandage man starts attacking Kakashi. ‘Let’s not forget I’m your enemy.’ The man says. ‘Our children can play together while my boy kills yours.

Kakashi is not of the same mind. No.

‘Yes! No way Sasuke is going to lose!’ Ino and Sakura cheer on for the boy.

Sasuke blinks a couple times. ‘You really think I can beat him?’ He feels touched. He never had people believe in him like that before. Not even his parents would say things like that.

‘Of course.’ Sakura tells him as she takes his hand in between hers.

Sasuke meanwhile is feeling a little trapped. Now that it’s all in place what’s he planning to do with these mirrors?

Then Haku starts speaking. ‘Let me show you some real speed.’ Then Haku appears from one mirror, rushes past Sasuke, and enters another one. This continues on and on and each time he hits Sasuke somewhere on his body.

Sasuke screams.

‘That’s one scary attack.’ Hiashi mutters. He might be able to deal with it with some clan techniques but even then. It’s a terrifying thought.

‘That could be very deadly. At least we know that Sasuke survives.’ Kakashi says. That’s one good thing about watching the future in distorted order. They saw Sasuke older. That means he does live.

‘Thank goodness.’

Which is heard by the outsiders. Both Kakashi and Sakura are worried about him. It’s clear on their faces.

Sakura even tries to throw a kunai at the boy but to no avail. The boy catches it and gets out of the mirror. But he’s stopped by someone.

It’s Naruto!

‘There he is.’ Kiba cheers. It turns out that Sasuke was right and Naruto was just late.

‘Why does he make such an entrance?’ Neji wonder out loud.

‘Some people are just like that.’ Iruka explains with a forced smile. ‘Gai does that quite often as well.’

‘Don’t remind me.’ Kakashi mutters as he recalls several instances of that happening. That man could really use a bit of stealth.

‘Uzumaki Naruto at your service!’ He smiles as he finally enters the scene. ‘Here I am, to save the day. You know how the story goes. Things look bleak till the hero arrives and then POW! Bye, bye bad guys.’

‘Real life doesn’t work like that.’ Itachi points out.

‘With Naruto there it probably will.’ Shikaku mutters.

‘What are you talking about.’

‘That kid seems to have some altering ability that’s scaring me a little.’ He won’t deny it. They might not have seen too much of Naruto, but that boy has a tendency to have the world bent to him. It’s a little scary to think about.

Kakashi doesn’t share the sentiment. Exasperating little—. What we needed was an ambush. Instead he all but paints a target on himself!

‘Give up Kakashi. Naruto wouldn’t know subtlety even if it was right in front of his face.’ Jiraiya laughs. Inside however he wonders how that kid didn’t get that trait from his parents as they both could be really stealthy.

‘Then you haven’t seen him do pranks yet.’ Iruka tells the man.

The rest of the onlookers have mixed reactions. Tazuna and Sakura are enthusiastic. Sasuke sighs at Naruto’s big talking. And the enemies laugh in their heads.

‘Sasuke is such a mood here.’ Shisui laughs. He can understand Sasuke’s feelings completely.

‘It’s way better than all that emo spouting nonsense he did with Itachi.’ Naruto laughs. The Sasuke from then was weird.

Zabuza throws some kunai in Naruto’s direction and Haku throws some senbon. It’s seems to be a tough situation for Naruto.

Here it comes! Naruto readies himself. But in the end, he doesn’t have to. Instead of the weapons hitting him they cancel each other out.

‘That’s convenient.’ Shikaku snorts.

‘Plot armor?’ Kakashi wonders. He’s seen it in some of the books he’s read.

‘Haku. What are you doing?’ The bandage man asks the boy.

‘Zabuza sir. Please let me have this boy. I want to fight him in my own way.’ Haku explains.

Zabuza sighs. ‘So, you want me to keep my hands off him, eh, Haku. How charmingly naïve of you as usual.’

‘I mean… I would want to fight Naruto. You know in the future when he gets all glowy.’ Shisui points out. And he really would like to fight that Naruto. He did look really strong like that. Almost like an angel or something.

‘That would be fun.’ Itachi grins. He would love to fight that Naruto as well.

Meanwhile in the mirror dome Sasuke surveys his injuries. Look at me. It’s like I’m being cut to ribbons by a thousand needles, but the cuts are all superficial he’s killing me by inches saving the vital targets and the deathblow for later. He looks up at the mirrors. But I can’t figure out what technique he’s using. His clones all hide within the mirrors and then strike simultaneously. I don’t even see him move. He strikes before I can spot his weapons’ trajectory. It can’t just be the clone jutsu. The ice mirrors are a part of this, somehow, but I can’t figure out their significance. Whatever is going on, the mirrors must be the key. Looks like my only chance is to concentrate on the battle here and trust Naruto to set me free from the outside.

‘Sasuke. You know Naruto isn’t going to do that.’ Sakura points out. She’s known Naruto for a little while.

Then a sound appears from the side. ‘Yo! Sasuke! I’m here to rescue you!’ Naruto is inside as well.

‘You see.’

‘He’s an idiot.’ Sasuke snorts.

‘I thought we already established that.’ Neji adds some fuel to the fire, which results in an explosion.

‘You meanies!’ Naruto yells as he hides his face in his arms. So, what if he’s not the smartest. He can’t help it.

Sasuke is understandably angry. ‘You doofus! NO stealth, no caution and you call yourself a ninja?’ Sasuke yells. ‘Now that you’ve gotten yourself trapped in here with me just do what you want. I don’t really care.’

‘Kakashi should have thought him better.’ Jiraiya points out.

Kakashi glares at the man but then sighs. ‘I don’t think it would have been able to go through that thick skull of his.’

Haku takes this time to go back inside the mirrors. Sasuke keeps his eyes on the boy.

SO, that’s it. His real body is over there! Sasuke readies himself for an attack.

But instead of being able to do anything he gets interrupted by Haku who’s know inside another mirror. ‘Over here.’ Haku says.

‘Is he a magician?’ Naruto stares at the screen with wide eyes. He’s never seen a magician before. Whenever there is one the people always say the tickets are sold out.

‘With those skills. He could be.’ Sasuke too is in awe. That looks really fun.

Neji sighs. He doesn’t know why he keeps arguing with them. ‘I don’t think that’s the case.’

Sasuke is shocked. Looks like destroying all the mirrors may be our only hope!

‘Great plan.’ Ino nods. And mentally cheers for Sasuke.

Meanwhile Naruto is just confused. ‘What the hell is going on?’

Sasuke makes some signs and a fire ball erupts from his mouth. But instead of melting the ice mirrors it doesn’t do a thing.

‘That must be some cold ass ice.’ Shisui stares. There’s not even a single sign of melting. Then another hit on his head.

‘What did I say about your language young man!’ Mikoto scolds him once again.

‘I’m sorry. Don’t hurt me.’ He rubs the place where she hit with his hands. That would sting for a little bit.

‘It’s not even making a dent!’ Naruto shouts.

‘That pitiful flame will barely touch my ice mirrors.’ Haku says as he too readies himself for attack. And attack he does. He hits both the boys and they fall to the ground.

‘I dunno. That looked decently strong to me.’ Itachi points out. It’s not the most powerful technique but it most certainly wasn’t weak.

‘It’s not as strong as Madara’s.’ Sasuke points out.

‘Don’t take him as the standard. He’s extraordinary.’ And that’s the truth. Nothing could possibly compare to Madara. That man is one of a kind.

‘Which one of you is the real one?’ Naruto shouts out.

‘Your eyes will never see the truth. I can’t be caught.’ Haku explains.

‘Oh, he mentioned eyes. Now we’re going to get to see the sharingan in action aren’t we.’ Shikaku sighs. He never expected for their lives to be this predictable.

‘From what we’ve seen that does look like the trend.’ Kakashi nods along. It worries him a little. It’s almost like…

‘Looking at things like this makes it rather predictable.’ Itachi agrees. It’s something he’d never thought to think about.

‘It’s like we’re following certain literary tropes.’ Kakashi points out. He can name a few and it does nothing to make him feel better about the situation.

‘It’s almost like we’re part of a work of… fiction.’ At that last word the collective shuddered. That was one thing to point out. It’s not like they could ever be fictional.

‘That’s a little creepy.’ Ino shudders. She doesn’t want to think like that.

Naruto puts his hands together and shouts. ‘Shadow clone jutsu.’

‘Wait!’ Sasuke shouts out.

Naruto doesn’t, and a ton of clones appear. If I clobber every one of him, then sooner or later I’ll get to the real one. His clones attack each of the mirrors but Haku is simply too fast for him. He manages to take out each and every clone with ease and the real Naruto falls to the ground as well.

‘That’s pretty amazing.’ Lee watches the screen. He hopes that one they he can be as fast as that. It would certainly help him a lot.

‘Why didn’t he just create so many clones that the mirrors spread under the pressure?’ Tenten asks. Naruto certainly has the power to do so. They’ve seen it before.

‘Then Sasuke and the real Naruto would get squished as well.’ Chouji explains.

‘I don’t know. They might. Depends of how strongly the mirrors are held together.’ Shikamaru clarifies. They both can see what he means.

‘The technique I’m using is part of the art of teleportation, and the only tool I need to perform it is the mirrors that hold my image. I move so quickly, the pair of you might as well be standing still.’ Haku explains.

Naruto is on the ground. ‘It can’t end like this. I’ve got a dream to fulfill.’ Naruto says. And it seems to bring up a memory in Haku’s head. It’s from the very first fragment they watched.

‘Wait! Are you telling me that’s the boy girl person thingy?’ Naruto yells. That guy was all the way from the very first scene they watched. That was a long time ago. He can barely remember it.

‘That does help with the timeline.’ Itachi notes it down immediately.

Haku is silent for a few seconds but then he starts speaking. ‘I find it difficult to embrace the full shinobi philosophy. I can’t help but prefer that the pair of you not force me to kill you. However, if you two are going to come at me. I shall kill my own heart with my clade just as the word shinobi was originally the words ‘heart’ and ‘blade’ and act like a full-fledged shinobi would.’ Haku speaks. ‘I have my own dreams as you have yours.’

‘What’s with the monologuing?’ Inoichi asks. He’s never seen anyone do that before. It’s a little odd to do in those situations.

‘Exposition.’ Shikaku explains. If they are going with the whole fictional world thing it does make a certain amount of sense.

Then the screen focusses on Kakashi. He has his hand on his headband. He’s about to reveal the sharingan. But Zabuza clearly doesn’t want that to happen. He rushes to intercept Kakashi and hits him with a kunai through the hand.

‘You can sneer all you want about my ‘lack of finesse’, Zabuza, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re afraid of the sharingan and of me.’

‘Heh. A ninja’s secret weapon should be employed judiciously, not displayed at random to every foe you face.’ Zabuza explains.

‘You should feel privileged. No one else has ever lived to see the sharingan a second time. And no one will ever see it thrice.’ Kakashi counters.

‘It’s this a battle of insults?’ Ino questions. She never once thought that a battle between two super powerful ninjas would be like that. It brings an entirely new light to the profession.

‘Very professional Kakashi.’ Iruka laughs.

‘Sometimes it’s fun to boast and roast.’ Kakashi basks in the complement. He gets plenty of complement but that one makes him smile.

‘Heh. By all means defeat me, if you can. You still won’t have what it takes to kill Haku!’ Zabuza laughs. ‘Since he was a toddler I’ve beaten his fighting skills into him. Even in the face of unthinkable adversity, has always prevailed. He’s lost all regard for his own life and become a killing machine. A true shinobi.’

Meanwhile Kakashi pulls up the headband and reveals his special eye. ‘Is there anything duller than listening to someone else brag?’ Kakashi stares him down. ‘It’s show time.’

‘Perhaps you might hold off a moment, now that I’ve caught my breath. And to borrow your own idiom permit me one more boast. You turned a very pretty phrase at our last encounter.’ Zabuza smirks through the bandages. ‘Frankly I’ve been dying to steal it. Something to the effect of ‘just so you know that same technique won’t work on me twice.’’

‘Can they get to the action. This seems more like one of those boring meetings people like to drag me into.’ Tsume complains. She doesn’t like this. She likes strength and actual fights. That would do her good.

‘I’m getting a similar feeling.’ The Hokage agrees with her. He never liked those kinds of meetings.

Kakashi doesn’t respond immediately. In fact, he still stares the man down.

Then we are transported back inside the mirror dome.

‘Sasuke. We’ve gotta stop reacting and take back the initiative.’ Naruto yells at his friend.

‘That also goes for you Naruto.’ Iruka tells the boy. Naruto scratches the back of his head in embarrassment.

‘Shut up and get on your feet! I can’t fight him and watch out for you, too.’ Sasuke yells right back. ‘We’re both wounded but we have to suck it up and go on. We’ll be fine as long as he doesn’t kill one of us. There must be a limit to his chakra. His attacks have been getting weaker.’

‘They have?’ Sasuke wonders. ‘I didn’t notice.’

‘It’s difficult to see on a screen.’ Itachi explains to his little brother. Truth to be told he didn’t really notice it either. Watching from the outside is totally different from being in such a situation.

Haku appears from one of the mirrors again and Sasuke readies himself for the attack. He has a weapon in hand and he’s about to run forward but he’s stopped by the senbon Haku managed to wedge in his legs.

‘Ouch.’ A couple people in the group wince.

Then we are outside again. There is mist covering the area around Kakashi. This fog is too thick for the hiding in the mist technique. Even Zabuza won’t be able to see anything through it.

‘That means Kakashi can take out the doggies!’ Itachi’s eyes light up as soon as he realizes that. What can he say? He like animals. They are just so cute.

‘What doggies?’ Kiba asks. He would love to see them.

‘My dear little puppies.’ Kakashi smiles. If there’s one thing that can always make him smile it’s the mention of his little puppies.

‘I wanna meet them!’ Naruto yells. He never got to pet a dog before. Only Akamaru.

‘Maybe later.’

The wind blows past and with his sharingan Kakashi manages to block an attack that he otherwise couldn’t have seen. Then Zabuza appears behind him. Kakashi is pretty shocked so to speak.

‘You repelled those nicely no less than I’d expect of Kakashi of the sharingan.’ Zabuza says. ‘However, the next time you see me it will still be the end.’

‘If you keep talking like that it won’t be too difficult to follow.’ Shisui sneers at the guy. Is he stupid or something?

This is the point that Kakashi realizes something. His eyes are closed!

‘I mean. That can work. I suppose.’ Jiraiya yells. He’s fought a blind ninja before. You should never underestimate them. He learned that the hard way.

‘It does take a lot of practice.’ Iruka nods. He tried to train himself in that before. But he gave up after he realized how difficult it is.

‘You’ve overestimated the value of your sharingan.’ Zabuza says before he starts laughing. ‘With my own eyes closed, I eliminate the possibility of your hypnotizing me while we’re in close proximity.’

‘But then… While I can’t use my own yes, neither can you.’ Kakashi counters.

‘Ah, but you forget. I am training in silent killing. My genius lies in the ability to hunt by sound alone.’ Zabuza responds. It’s obvious that he’s taunting Kakashi.

‘Ooh. Now it’s getting fun.’ Tsume almost starts bouncing in her seat. She has been waiting for this.

Blast it. I’ve been so worried about Naruto and Sasuke, I hadn’t considered… how long it’s been since I had to fight under conditions this adverse. Kakashi takes a deep breath. I’ve got to calm down and stay smart. Who will he target next? That’s when Kakashi realizes who. Sakura and Tazuna.

‘Go Kakashi!’ the kids cheer. Kakashi smiles from the side of the classroom.

He rushes there as fast as possible and is able to intercept the attack just in time. However, it isn’t that easy.

‘Too late.’ Zabuza says and next up we are back inside the dome again.

‘Why do they always do this with these cliffhangers.’ Lee complains. Number has been doing that for quite some time now and it doesn’t stop being annoying. It totally ruins the mood.

‘To keep the tension going?’ Neji wonders. He knows nothing about this kind of thing so what can he say.

‘I don’t know.’

Sasuke stands up and analyzes the situation. If this keeps up, we’ll all be in serious trouble. I’ve got to do something. My eyes are beginning to adjust to the environment.

Haku is analyzing the situation as well. I’ve been targeting the points that would result in mortal injuries, but he’s evaded every attempt. And while he’s dividing his own focus between fighting me and watching out for his friend he’s gradually gaining speed. Beginning to catch up to my own moves. That kid, he can see something.

‘He did inherit this one special gene that results in special eyes.’ Shisui smiles as he points at his own eyes.

Fugaku sighs. It’s true that the sharingan brings them an unfair advantage in that situation. ‘In that situation the byakugan might actually be more useful.’

‘I can’t disagree with that.’ Hiashi nods. The 360 vision as well as the techniques associated with it are ideal for that kind of technique.

Now Haku starts speaking to Sasuke again. ‘But my next assault will take you down.’ Haku moves quickly acting like he’s going to attack Sasuke but aiming for Naruto instead. However, Sasuke isn’t fooled. He could see everything that was happening.

He has the sharingan.

‘Told you so.’ Shisui smiles.

‘Is this his first time using them?’ Itachi wonders. Sasuke doesn’t seem to be consciously using them.

‘Unlikely. He has two tomoe in one of his eyes.’ Fugaku explains. It’s possible but somehow, he doubts that. It’s more likely that he awakened them during the massacre.

Haku realizes he must do something know. Or else Sasuke would defeat him. He rushes at Naruto, who’s a little away from Sasuke. He’s going fast and Sasuke has to rush to his side.

I have to get there first. Is all that goes through Sasuke’s mind.

‘How romantic.’ Ino swoons.

Sasuke stares her down. ‘No.’

Then we are outside the dome again.

‘Again!’ Lee complains. There are a couple people there that get what he’s saying.

Blood falls on the ground. Kakashi got hit by Zabuza’s humongous sword.

‘You were slow on your guard, Kakashi. Your desire to save those brats caused the blood to rise to your head, obscuring your thoughts and vision as surely as the fog I’ve created does.’ Zabuza taunts again. ‘Even with your impressive eye and the formidable powers you wield with it. Your ability to read my movement has been blunted.

‘You sure about that? He did get there in time.’ Jiraiya laughs. That Zabuza really likes boasting. It’s pretty funny actually.

‘Heh. I want to enjoy this Kakashi. Paying back what you did to me would give me the greatest pleasure.’ Zabuza picks up his sword. ‘Don’t worry, Haku should be finishing off those brats of yours right about now. I’ll be reuniting you with them shortly. When you meet them in the afterlife, beg them to forgive you for your weakness and folly.’ After this Zabuza starts laughing. Kakashi is clearly a little angered by this.

‘He’s trying to piss him off.’ Chouji realizes.

Shikamaru digs his hand in the bag of chips on Chouji’s lap. ‘You just noticed?’

‘What!’

‘It was obvious from the beginning.’

‘Not everyone is as smart as you.’

This is also the point in which inner Sakura makes a comeback. ‘Sasuke won’t be easy for someone like that masked kid to defeat. Neither will Naruto!’ Sakura screams out.

‘You’re right.’ Kakashi agrees with her. ‘I have faith in them and in their strengths, Naruto’s unpredictability and Sasuke is one of the most worthy heirs to the most superior bloodline of Konoha.’

Zabuza takes a second to respond. ‘You don’t mean—’

‘That’s right. His full name is Uchiha Sasuke. He’s a ninja genius who carries in his genes the bloodline of the Uchiha.’ Kakashi seems almost smug.

‘Heck yeah!’ Naruto cheers.

‘What did I say?’ Ino smiles.

‘He’s the sole surviving member of that tragic clan, eh.’ No wonder his development is so remarkable. Zabuza makes the mist a bit thicker. ‘So, he may indeed be Haku’s equal. No one has ever penetrated the secret of Haku’s techniques until now. No one.’

‘He’s gone again!’ Sakura yells.

‘Sakura don’t move an inch. I’ll finish this as quickly as I can.’ Kakashi leans down and darts off to the side. ‘Did you hear that Zabuza? Do you truly believe after all of the hardships, I’ve survived in this world armed on with the sharingan? I too was once a member of ANBU. I’ll show you what kind of ninja I once was. This isn’t something I learned with the sharingan. Let me show you my own true art.’

‘Let me guess. We’ll go back to Naruto.’ Tenten joins Lee in the complains against the cliffhangers.

The screen goes black again and we are back inside the dome.

‘Wow.’ Tenten fake faints. ‘I never would have guessed.’

Naruto is waking up from something. He grumbles and takes a second to collect his bearings. What he sees in front of him is Haku on the ground and Sasuke standing in front of him.

‘Sheesh. No matter how many times I warn you, Naruto, you still keep getting in my way.’ Sasuke says. He stumbles a little over his words.

‘Oh. He’s hurt.’ Mikoto looks at her son with worry. This doesn’t look good for him. She doubts he’ll be able to stand for much longer.

‘Sasuke. You!’ Naruto is cheerful until he realizes the view in front of him. Sasuke is coughing up blood and several senbon are in his body. It’s a haunting sight.

‘He’s a porcupine!’ Naruto laughs. It’s only because he knows that Sasuke survives that he allows himself to be this cheerful. If that wasn’t the case, he would have acted a bit more seriously.

‘A pincushion.’ Sakura agrees with him.

‘Now get that lame expression off your stupid face. You screw up!’ Sasuke says. His voice is a little softer than normal.

‘Wh—why?’ He was trying to cover me? Naruto remembers all kinds of scenes from the past. When Sasuke was rude and when he was kind.

‘This is going to get sad.’ Neji sighs. He doesn’t like the sad scenes. They make him feel funny.

‘At least we know he survives.’ Hinata smiles. She doesn’t know what to do if that wasn’t the case. She would most certainly be a lot more nervous.

‘That’s one relief.’

‘I used to hate you, you know.’

‘Why, why did you? Why me?’ Naruto asks. ‘You should have just minded you own business.’ Naruto is close to tears with the way he speaks.

‘How should I know? My body just moved on its own. Fool!’ Sasuke mutters out before he collapses on the ground. Naruto grabs Sasuke’s body and just sits there for a second ‘I swore I wouldn’t die until I killed him. My older brother. I thought the oath would save me… but… but don’t you dare die.’

Naruto is shocked. He looks at Sasuke’s face as he’s asleep from the exhaustion. Tears are building up in his eyes.

‘Aw. Sasuke wants Naruto to kill Itachi.’ Ino can almost see her dreams come true. Those two would make such a cool couple. Even if they don’t agree with her.

‘But he did end up doing it himself.’ Sakura points out.

‘He struck one blow at me and without any sign of shirking sacrificed himself for you!’ Haku explains. ‘He was a shinobi worthy of the utmost respect who in order to protect someone he cared about, threw himself headlong into what he knew full well was a trap.’ Haku stands up slowly. He does seem a bit tired as well. ‘Is this the first time a comrade of yours has died? Such is a ninja’s path.’ And then Haku returns to his mirrors.

Rage consumes Naruto and with a shrill voice he commands. ‘Shut up.’ I used to hate you, you know.

Then his voice turns dark. ‘I’m never gonna forgive you for this.’

‘Oh no.’ This was the collective thought that went through everyone’s head. That doesn’t sound normal.

‘It’s the fox isn’t it.’ Itachi asks. He gets a nod from several of the people there. He remembers when the fox attacked the village. He knows what it felt like. He doesn’t want to experience that ever again.

‘That’s not good.’ Mikoto mutters.

‘It’s good that we get to see this. Then we know what to do when it happens for real.’ Jiraiya points out. Because whether they like it or not, they are going to have to deal with it at some point.

‘I suppose.’

Haku is shocked. What is this strange aura?

A red cloak is covering Naruto’s body. His eyes are red with slits and he’s standing on all fours. ‘I’m gonna kill you!!!’

‘That’s scary.’ Sakura can feel a shudder through her entire body. What must the future her there have felt?

‘He’s losing control.’ Shikamaru says. He never imagined he would see Naruto like that. It just seems wrong somehow.

The area around Naruto is distorted. Energy is swirling around him. Dust flies into the air. It’s scary.

Haku is surprised. What chakra is this?

‘I bet he didn’t expect this.’ Naruto tries to cheer the group back up. He doesn’t like it when everyone is sad. It gives him a headache.

‘He most certainly did not.’ Sasuke laughs. He tries to hide his thoughts behind the laughter.

Naruto stands up and the area moves with him. His chakra is forming the head of a fox above him. It’s quite intimidating.

‘Wow.’ The kids stare at the screen with wide eyes. They most certainly haven’t seen anything like it before.

Impossible. His chakra is physically manifesting itself. And an appalling chakra it is. Haku doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

‘I remember that chakra. It was suffocating.’ Tsume says. And she’s not the only one.

‘Made me want to vomit.’ Kakashi admits.

The kids could only look at the adults being scared. ‘So terrifying.’

The wounds on Naruto’s body are healing and his fingernails turn into claws. His whisker marks deepened and the energy surrounding him bursts outwards.

Even Kakashi and Zabuza notice it.

‘Is this Zabuza’s doing?’ Kakashi wonders out loud. No. This power, this energy is foul, it’s evil and familiar but it can’t be!

‘What do you mean can’t be?’ Sasuke tilts his head to the side. Is there something wrong?

‘Is the seal breaking?’ Itachi asks.

‘It better not.’ Jiraiya answers. He is the one that inspected the seal in the first place. ‘That would cause too many problems.’

Zabuza is having similar thoughts. This chakra I’m feeling something about it fills me with dread. No, it seems bigger than Kakashi, somehow but who?

Kakashi can feel the panic rising. Naruto! Unbelievable it can’t be after all this time.

‘Has the seal begun to unravel? Is the seal broken.’ Kakashi looks around. I sense that we’re safe for now. It hasn’t broken through yet, not completely. But the seal has slipped a little, or cracked, and the power of the nine tailed fox is bleeding through.

‘That’s a little reassuring.’ Shisui breathes out a sigh of relief. So, they don’t have to worry about the seal breaking that easily. Sure, the fourth also put in that protection thing but you never know how secure it is.

‘Not a lot.’

Then Kakashi starts moving. In one hand he takes out a scroll and in the other he takes some of his blood. He unseals the scroll and applies his blood in the most over the top fashion. After which he starts moving the scroll around like a rhythmic gymnast. ‘Listen to me Zabuza. I’m a busy man. You’re a busy man. We’ve both got a lot on our plates and it goes against the grain to even suggest this but what do you say we stop screwing around…’ He tosses the scroll in the air. And then makes a seal. ‘And wrap this up right now? One big move, winner take all?’

‘Did you really have to do all that Kakashi?’ Iruka laughs. He’s never seen Kakashi dance before.

‘It seems he has a flare for theatrics.’ Jiraiya adds while smiling. He never would have guessed that Minato’s little brat of a student would do something like that.

‘If you hang out with Gai you’ve got to get some of the strange.’ Kakashi uses as an excuse but it probably has nothing to do with it.

‘An intriguing notion. What’s left, Kakashi? Show me what you’ve got!’ the mist thickens once more and Zabuza isn’t visible anymore.

Inside the dome energy is still swirling around like a maniac. Naruto focusses on his target but he doesn’t quite seem sound of mind.

‘It’s like he’s gone full on feral.’ Kiba nearly yells. He knows his clan is well known for going feral but it’s a little strange to see Naruto do that.

‘That’s a little worrying.’ Shino manages to stumble out of his mouth.

He’s attacking! Haku readies himself for the attack. Then Naruto shoots himself at the boy. He’s so bloodthirsty! He’s completely changed from the boy of just minutes ago! Haku throws some senbon but Naruto is able to deflect them with just the chakra surrounding him.

‘Holy moly.’ Shisui yells. He was careful this time to not use any of the bad words. ‘I don’t want to get anywhere near that.’

‘Me neither.’ Iruka can’t help but agree.

Then Haku puts himself in the attack but Naruto able to dodge out of the way.

I’ve got to make it to the next mirror! Haku tries his best but he’s intercepted by Naruto who promptly punches him out of the way. He couldn’t have! Haku is shocked. He didn’t expect that amount of speed.

‘It’s a full-on power boost.’ Lee yells out. It’s kind of like how he got a power boost after unlocking one of the gates. The difference being that he was in control of it and Naruto is not.

‘I suppose it’s a little cool to watch. But I can’t help but be scared what would happen if the control loosens even more.’ Sakura says. They’ve gotten a glimpse of what could happen, and it does not mean anything good.

‘I’m afraid that it won’t be anything good.’ Ino says to her friend.

Naruto lets out a scream and more of the chakra bursts from his body. It’s so strong it even starts melting the mirror around him. Haku takes notice of this and tries to strengthen them again but he doesn’t have the power. During this distraction Naruto grabs one of his arms and punches the boy in the face. The force behind it is so strong that Haku falls backwards, right through his mirrors. The mask he’s wearing starts cracking.

‘The power of the bijuu is truly something out of this world.’ Tenten stares at the screen in awe. She never would have thought that just a little of their chakra can have such big effects.

‘I can’t disagree with that.’ Neji says to her.

Haku lands on the ground and stands up. He’s too weak to move at the moment. Master Zabuza. Naruto is still in his rage and doesn’t seem to notice. He jumps at the boy ready for attack. I’m finished. But then the mask breaks and what’s revealed beneath makes Naruto stop in his tracks.

It’s the boy from the forest.

‘It is that guy!’ Naruto points at the screen. At first, he didn’t want to believe that but now it’s obvious.

‘Wow. What a coincidence.’ Sasuke has a smile on his face as he says that. Naruto turns to look at him with a glare on his face.

‘Was that sarcasm?’

‘Dunno. What do you think.’

‘You’re the kid I met this morning!’ Naruto seems to be struggling to hold himself back.

‘Why did you stop?’ Haku asks. ‘I murdered your comrade your beloved friend and you still spare me?’

‘He snapped out of it.’ Fugaku takes note of that. It’s good to note. Just in case he might need the information in the future.

‘Just because he saw someone familiar.’ Tsume stares at the screen. She never would have thought.

‘I think it might have been the shock.’ Itachi points out.

Naruto looks back at Sasuke and then hit’s Haku straight in the face. Haku flies back but he’s quick to compose himself.

‘All the power you had before where is it? You can’t hope to kill me with the meager force you put into that blow.’ Haku tells the boy.

‘What’s his plan?’ Naruto asks. He doesn’t get it. Why would the boy want him to attack him?

‘Assisted suicide?’ Iruka suggests.

‘That’s not cool.’ Kakashi had seen it before and it doesn’t tend to end well.

Naruto is still struggling to comprehend the situation.

‘Often people have it wrong mistakenly believing that showing mercy to an enemy is kindness. They spare the foe whose life is in their hands. But don’t you see? It’s an empty existence. To go on living alone and unloved when death’s already cost you your dream!’

‘Say what?!’ Naruto looks at Haku.

‘I’m with Naruto here. How in the world does he draw that conclusion?’ Sasuke points out.

Shikamaru hums. ‘I think there might be more to the story.’

‘Master Zabuza has no use for a weak shinobi. You’ve taken away my reason for living.’

Naruto doesn’t agree. ‘Why waste all that devotion on such a creep. That mercenary scumbag doesn’t care who he works for or who gets hurt, just so someone pays him! Is that browless wonder really precious to you? Your beloved friend?’

‘You can use his name Naruto.’ Iruka scolds the boy.

‘No way!’ he likes using nicknames. So, what? It’s not like he hurts anyone with it.

‘Once I was precious, I belonged to my parents.’ Haku starts telling his backstory. Naruto doesn’t really get what that has to do with anything. ‘I was born in a snowy little village in the land of mist. And I was happy. My parents were good, kind people.’

‘He’s from the land of water. I can see where this is going.’ At this the adults faces turn grim. Of course. Everyone knew what happened there. It’s something many of them wish would never happen to them.

‘That’s just sad.’

‘But. Just as I was getting old enough to really notice the world around me something happened.’

Naruto listens carefully to the story. ‘Like what? What happened?’

‘My blood. My father killed my mother and tried to kill me.’ Haku’s face is blank.

‘That must have been something.’ Hiashi says. While he might not have been the greatest father himself he at least wouldn’t do something like that.

‘Why?’ Naruto doesn’t understand why someone would do that.

‘Due to wars that plagued the land those with bloodlines became feared. Those who possessed these bloodlines were hunted only able to survive by hiding the existence of our skills and our bloodline away. My father learned that my mother came from such a clan and before I even realized what I was about to do my father had died by my hand.

‘What a fantastic family. That’s really how you do it.’ Neji mutters. Not like his family is much better.

‘Shut up. This is supposed to be sad.’ Naruto tells the guy.

‘And then it came to me. I knew what I was. And I was forced to accept it. That was the most painful thing.’

‘The most painful thing?’ Naruto starts to see where Haku is coming from. Not that he accepts it that easily.

‘Accepting that I was alone in the world. Superfluous. Unwanted. Shunned.’ Naruto know the feeling well. ‘Didn’t you tell me. That you wanted to become the number one ninja in your village and make everyone respect you? You had someone in your life who did more than that. who acknowledged your existence, even cared for you. Wouldn’t that person become the most important treasured person in your life?’

The first person to appear in Naruto’s mind is Iruka. Who had helped him so many times.

‘Aw. Isn’t that sweet.’ Ino’s inner fangirl is going wild. Naruto and Iruka had such a wonderful almost father son like relationship.

‘Thank you, Naruto.’ Iruka smiles at the child in question.

Naruto gets the most blinding smile on his face. ‘No problem.’

‘Master Zabuza adopted me, knowing I came from a bloodline. The very thing in me that made everyone else hate me. He didn’t just overlook it. He cherished it. He wanted it.’ Tears form in Haku’s eyes. ‘I was so happy.’

‘Aw. This is really emotional.’ Naruto can almost wipe away a tear.

‘It’s just that this isn’t the place to do that sort of stuff.’ Inoichi points out. Doing stuff like that on the battlefield can bring a serious disadvantage to your team.

‘Where are you supposed to do that?’ Naruto asks in response.

‘Therapists office.’

Then Haku turns serious once again. The blank look is on his face. ‘Naruto. Please. Take my life.’

‘At least he asks.’ Lee points out. Not that he agrees with that method.

‘True. I’ve known people that don’t. That always turns into such sadness.’ Jiraiya can name a handful. It’s a little too common in this world they live in.

Back with Kakashi and Zabuza.

Kakashi makes some more signs and puts his hands on the ground. ‘Earth style: Fanged vengeance technique!’

‘This posturing will get you nowhere, Kakashi. You can’t even tell where I truly am. While I, on the other hand, know exactly where you are and exactly how to defeat you. You are completely enmeshed in my spell.’ Zabuza has his eyes closed. He concentrates but then someone bursts from the ground and grabs his legs.

They are dogs.

‘I said the doggies would appear!’ Itachi’s eyes are sparkling. It’s a little odd. Only his family knows that he has a weak spot for animals, cats in particular but dogs are awesome as well.

‘It seems you are correct.’ Iruka takes note of them all. There are quite a couple of them.

‘Aren’t they adorable.’ Kakashi smiles. He raised each and every single one of them and it did take a lot of effort. He cares about them all equally.

‘They look like they want to shred that man to pieces.’ Sasuke points out. He doesn’t really care about them. Only if he gets to pet them.

‘So cute.’ Mikoto smiles at her children. They are just too cute.

They grab his legs and arms and hold him still.

‘When your eyes and your ears have let you down. You can always follow you nose!’ Kakashi says.

Zabuza is completely held down by dogs.

‘Go Kakashi!’ Lee and Kiba cheer for the man.

‘It worked because you shut your eyes in the mist. This conjuration is specifically designed for tracking. It’s why I went out of my way to bleed a bit during both of our earlier encounters. My little ninja pups couldn’t miss it. The smell of my blood is all over you and your weapons, so thick. Every dog has his nose and they all know you stink! So, who’s enmeshed in whose spell now?

‘The fog is lifting. I can see your future; your future is death!’ Kakashi ends his awesome speech.

‘Talk about being a badass.’ Shikamaru mutters. Why is that man so talented at that.

‘He really doesn’t disappoint now, does he?’ Chouji smiles. He hopes they get to see much more of him.

‘You say my future is death? I’ve had enough of your bluffs.’

‘Who’s bluffing now? There’s no way out. Face it. You’re going to die.’ Then Kakashi turns serious. ‘Zabuza you’ve had your fun.’ He puts his hands once more and makes the familiar signs of the Raikiri.

Zabuza is shocked. He doesn’t know what to think.

‘He’s going to do it.’ Naruto is bouncing in his seat. This is getting way too exciting for him to handle. Maybe he’ll have to go to the hospital after. Is that possible? Getting too excited. Maybe. He doesn’t really care.

‘Man. That was awesome.’ Sasuke agrees with his rival.

‘I have a feeling that’s not the end of the fight yet.’ Shikamaru points out. It just doesn’t sound right.

‘The man you’re trying to kill, Mr. Tazuna, is the heart and spirit of this place. And the bridge you’re trying to prevent him from completing is the land’s hope. You’re willing to sacrifice this place and everyone in it, just to advance your own ambitions. That’s not what a true shinobi does.’ Kakashi starts walking forwards.

‘Spare me the civics lesson and philosophy. I’m fighting for my own ideals. And I’m not about to stop.’

‘You can try. But guilt tripping doesn’t tend to work on those kinds of people.’ Jiraiya points out. He’s tried. With Orochimaru. And look where that got him.

‘Too bad.’ Kakashi shrugs the man off.

‘I’ll say this just once more.’ Kakashi powers up his attack. ‘Give up.’

Back with Naruto and Haku the conversation continues.

‘Please, Naruto, kill me now.’ Haku says. ‘What are you waiting for?’

Naruto gasps and tries to collect himself. He hasn’t killed someone before. ‘What is wrong with you? You’re used to being the toughest. You don’t like to lose. I get that! But wanting to die just because someone beat you is crazy!’ Naruto responds. ‘There’s more to life than just fighting. There’s more to you! Your boss must like you for more than just that, right? Doesn’t he?’

‘Go Naruto. I’m with you on this.’ Ino tells the boy. His eyes start sparkling.

‘Me too.’ Sakura adds.

‘That day I met you in the forest… I remember thinking that we were two of a kind. Surely you can understand. You’ll have to bloody your hands. Forgive me for that.’ Haku says to Naruto.

‘Is that the only way? No other outcome?’ Naruto’s sweating. He really doesn’t want to hurt Haku any more.

An expression of peace crosses Haku’s features. ‘Yes.’

‘First kills are never easy.’ Fugaku says. He can still remember his first.

‘Most certainly not.’ Tsume agrees.

‘It’s even worse when you care about that person.’ Hiashi would know. No matter how hard a first kill is, it’s nothing compared to killing someone you care about. Kakashi would agree with him.

Naruto frowns. And then some more. Then determination strikes.

‘I hope you find your dream.’ Haku says to Naruto.

Naruto turns to look at Sasuke. ‘Sasuke had a dream too… If we’d met some other way, someplace else, you and I would probably have been friends.’ Naruto takes out a knife and runs at Haku.

‘How sweet.’ Neji mutters. He didn’t get any of the conversation. It’s fate that decides whether you live or die. Who cares about the rest?

Then Haku’s face morphs into shock. Naruto hasn’t hit him yet. He intercepts Naruto’s attack. Naruto is predictably shocked. ‘I’m sorry Naruto.’ He holds Naruto still. ‘I can’t die yet.’

‘Talk about a change of mind.’ Shisui points out. He has already taken a couple notes of the scene. Nothing all that important to the future.

‘Let me guess. He sees Kakashi approaching Zabuza.’ Jiraiya says.

Then he disappears and the next they see of him is right in front of Zabuza. He stopped Kakashi’s attack with his own body. Blood splatters everywhere. Including Zabuza’s and Kakashi’s faces. It would probably be a pain to get out of their masks.

‘Zabuza, s—sir.’ Haku starts but then he doesn’t continue talking.

‘You said my future was death. Heh, heh. But you missed again, Kakashi.’ Zabuza sneers at the man.

‘He dares to talk like that!’ Tenten is a little surprised. No matter what, that was just rude.

‘That’s a little rude.’ Sakura agrees with her. And they are not the only ones. Most of the people in the room have similar feelings.

‘That kid just gave his life.’ Tsume barks in. How insensitive can someone get?

‘Talk about unfeeling.’

Naruto runs to the scene and then takes in what happened.

Kakashi is a little shocked as well. He jumped between to save Zabuza.

Zabuza chuckles. ‘That was brilliant Haku.’

Kakashi wants to take back his hand but finds himself unable. The boy… is already dead. Haku is smiling. A peaceful expression is on his face. None of the pain he should have been feeling is visible.

‘That’s kind of sweet if you think about it.’ Sakura says. Even in death that boy is still smiling.

‘I think it’s gross.’ Ino puts in. ‘That kid is way younger than that man.’

‘I don’t think their relationship was like that.’ Tenten tells the other girl. Not that Ino is willing to listen.

This is also the point that Zabuza goes for the attack once more.

He’s going to come right through the kid to get to me. Kakashi thinks.

‘That’s awful!’ Naruto yells at the screen.

‘I really did find a treasure in that gutter. To think that he’d grant me this marvelous chance in the end!’ Zabuza’s voice is deeper. He might not act concerned but there is a certain amount of irrationality there that tells different.

Kakashi grabs Haku’s body and jumps out of the way. After that he slowly lowers the body down and closes the boy’s eyes.

‘At least Kakashi does things properly.’ Jiraiya feels the need to say. It’s proper manners even if you don’t always have the time for it on the battlefield.

‘Such a gentleman.’ Ino swoons.

Sasuke blinks a little and then looks at Kakashi. ‘Then why doesn’t he have a girlfriend yet?’

‘Please. Don’t. Mention. That.’ Kakashi smiles at the boy in question and Sasuke is quick to look the other way.

Naruto is shaking with anger. That unforgivable scumbag!

‘Naruto stay out of this.’ Kakashi reminds the boy. ‘This is my fight.’

‘I agree with Kakashi. Interfering won’t do any good.’ The Hokage adds to the conversation.

Zabuza rushes off to Kakashi. ‘Focus, Kakashi! Don’t let yourself be distracted!’ But Kakashi isn’t defeated that easily and with much ease he’s able to kick Zabuza in the stomach.

He tries again. And again. And some more. But he’s not able to land a single hit. Eventually he falls to the ground. He pants. ‘Why—why can’t I keep up?’ He makes off once more and Kakashi doesn’t even have to look to deflect him.

‘That’s kind of a cool power play.’ Chouji munches on his chips some more. There are several other that agree with him.

‘I think Zabuza might be more affected with the boy’s death than he lets on.’ Itachi points out. A couple other nod along. They can see it as well.

‘Now there’s no way you can beat me.’ Kakashi states.

‘What?’

‘It’s over. You just don’t know it yet.’ Kakashi takes out a single knife and is about to kill the man.

‘Heh-heh. I wonder how the fight’s going!’ A new voice joins the conversation. By the tone it’s clear he doesn’t give a shit about any of the participants.

‘Who in the world is that?’ Naruto yells out. It’s silent for a bit.

Sasuke shrugs. ‘I have no idea.’ And nobody else has any idea as well.

Zabuza moves his arm just as Kakashi is about to hit him. The knife lands in Zabuza’s arm. Both Kakashi and Zabuza fall to the ground.

‘Now you can’t use either arm. No jutsu, no Kata, no chakra.’ Kakashi tells the man. Zabuza gives a grunt as response.

‘I’m starting to feel sorry for the man.’ Chouji mutters. He can see the emotion behind the attacks and it hurts his little soul.

‘I can see that.’ Shikamaru agrees with his friend.

‘Well, he’s certainly made a fine mess out of you!’ That strange voice tells the people there.

Both Kakashi and Zabuza give the man a side eyed glare.

The man in question is small thick and wears sunglasses. He’s clearly a business man.

‘That man is an ugly ass pig.’ Shisui is quick to point out. As usual, he gets a hit on the head. The area there starts swelling quite nicely.

‘Language! But I don’t disagree with you.’ Mikoto glares at the screen. She’s seen types like that and they rub her the wrong way.

‘See. Some people require special words to describe.’ Shisui laughs. Itachi gives him a soft shove from the side.

‘Gato. What are you doing here? And why did you bring all of them?’ Zabuza asks the man.

‘There’s been a slight change of plan, Zabuza. Or of our plans, anyway. This was what I had in mind all along. You’re going to die, demon, here and now.’ Gato says, he’s a little too confident for someone so assholey.

‘He won’t know what hit him. Zabuza could still easily kill him.’ Fugaku snorts. He’s seen it before. It was a man with only a functioning left leg and he still was able to kill two relatively powerful ninja. It’s quite a feat but nothing too unusual.

‘Go Zabuza!’ Naruto and Lee start cheering.

‘What?’

‘You must have guessed I never intended to pay you.’ Gato says. ‘Ninja are simply too expensive. These people here will take you down without even a sweat in the state you’re in.’

Naruto watches with wide eyes. Who are they? That’s some crowd!

‘They are that man’s fangirls.’ Sasuke whispers in Naruto’s ears. But it’s not that quiet and quite a couple of people can hear him.

‘I don’t think so…’ Iruka points out.

‘It’s a joke.’ Sasuke glares at his teacher.

‘Forgive me Kakashi. Our fight is over. I no longer have any reason to want to assassinate Tazuna which settles our differences.’ Zabuza mutters out.

Kakashi nods. ‘You’re right.

‘That reminds me,’ Gato makes his way over to Haku, he kicks the body a couple times. ‘I still have a score to settle. You crushed my arm until you almost broke the bones.’ Then he kicks the body right in the head. ‘Dead meat.’

‘Rude!’ Naruto yells. He likes the boy now. Nobody is allowed to hurt him. EVER.

‘Kill him!’ Tenten yells. She never likes rude people.

‘Roast him!’ Ino yells even louder. Kakashi is quite good at roasting people.

Naruto doesn’t take it well. ‘What are you doing you creep!’ He’s about to dash over there but Kakashi holds him back.

‘Cool down. Think. There’s a lot of them.’

‘Hey! Why don’t you do something. He worked for you! He was practically our slave!’ Naruto shouts at Zabuza.

‘Tell him Naruto!’ Sakura cheers.

‘Now Naruto is trying guilt tripping.’ Shikamaru wants to sigh. It’s a strange tactic but it doesn’t seem to be that stupid of a tactic than it seems at first.

‘It does seem a bit more effective than Kakashi’s.’ Chouji is quick to point out.

‘Like what? Haku is dead.’

‘But you should care! The fat scumbag is desecrating him. He was your comrade, your partner, he worked for you for years!’

‘Gato’s been using me. And I used Haku. Weren’t you listening? It’s a ninja’s lot. All of us are either users or tools, or both. I didn’t value Haku for himself but for the taint his blood carried and for what his talents could do for me. I apologize for nothing.’ Zabuza mumbles out.

‘You…’ Naruto starts, ‘do you really mean that?’ Naruto struggles himself loose of Kakashi’s hold and runs to the man.

‘We aren’t seeing his face. It might be working.’ Sasuke says to Naruto who quickly nods along.

‘Stop it, Naruto! Leave him alone our quarrel is over. Besides which.’ Kakashi tries to reason with the boy.

‘Shut up! He’s still my enemy.’ Naruto breathes a couple times.

‘Who’s that obnoxious brat? He’s been making quite a nuisance of himself.’ Gato says.

‘You shut up.’ Sakura is balling her fists. She wants to punch something but she’s afraid it might destroy something so she’s holding herself back.

‘Yeah. Jump in a volcano.’ Kiba yells at the screen.

Naruto points at Haku. ‘He really cared about you! He was devoted to you. But you think that’s just nothing. That he was nothing. You don’t feel a thing. Are you really that heartless. Is that how you get when your powers are as strong as yours are?’ Naruto takes one deep breath. ‘He gave his life for you!’ Tears stream down his face. ‘He died without any of his dreams ever coming true. To die as his tool.’ Snot starts falling down his face. ‘That’s too much. Too cruel.’

Zabuza takes a second. ‘Kid…’ tears fall to the ground. ‘Not another word.’ Zabuza is crying as well.

‘He’s crying!’ Is the collective shout of the group.

‘Wow. It actually worked.’ Shikaku is a little surprised. He did not expect Naruto to be that effective. They could make good use of that in the future.

‘Naruto you are talented. You could be a good therapist.’ Inoichi tells the boy.

‘Too bad I don’t want to do that.’ Naruto’s face morphs into something a little like disgust.

‘The world of ninja is traumatic enough that you might be doing it even if you aren’t aware of it.’ The man tells the boy.

‘I can see that happening.’

Everyone watches as the ninja cries his heart out.

‘What Haku did was not just for me. While we fought, he broke his heart over you and your friends. That’s the truth. He was too kind. Too gentle.’ Zabuza collects himself. ‘I’m glad my last battle was against you, boy. You’re right, you know.’

‘Huh?’

‘Aw.’

‘Zabuza is a good person even if he tried not to be.’ Itachi wonders how many others there are like Zabuza. He wonders if he ever killed one of them. It makes him feel something that feels like he’s been punched in the gut but like on the inside. It’s not a fun feeling.

‘Say what we will, do what we will. In the end we shinobi are still just people after all, with feelings all too human. And I’ve lost everything.’ Zabuza turns to look at the boy. ‘Will you lend me your knife.’

‘That’s the truth. We can never kill our emotions.’ Hiashi says. He’s tried. Many times. It never works. It’s probably because he tries that it doesn’t work.

‘Huh?’ Naruto looks down and then throws the knife at him. ‘Sure.’

Zabuza catches the knife with his mouth and as soon as he did a murderous aura surrounds him. He’s getting serious. He runs to the group of bandits and they fall backwards.

‘This is going to be awesome.’ Naruto is bouncing on his seat. He can feel the energy coming from the screen and it’s making him really excited.

‘That’s enough! What are you waiting for? Kill all of them!’ Gato yells at his man as he tries to hide within the crowd.

The bandits get riled up and take out their weapons.

Zabuza isn’t done yet. His aura starts forming around him, not unlike how Naruto’s chakra did previously. It’s enough to scare the bandits. Then Zabuza goes off into the crowd. He mows them down like he’s a lawnmower and they are the grass. They spring into the air and Zabuza does take any effort in slaying them. He makes his way over to Gato and hits him in the chest. A couple of the leftover bandits manage to use their blades to cut in Zabuza’s back, but it does barely anything.

‘To think he still had that amount of power left in him.’ The Hokage is pleasantly surprised. The mist could have used someone like that. Too bad that didn’t happen.

‘I could never imagine. That man is truly great.’ Fugaku has seen shit before. It never gets old.

‘Why won’t you die!’ Gato yells. ‘If you’re in such a hurry to be reunited with your little friend go alone!’

‘I have no intention of going to the same place as Haku.’ Zabuza mumbles with the knife in his mouth.

‘What are you babbling about?’

‘I’m taking you with me, to hell. ’ Zabuza looks really cool while he says that. Even if it must be difficult to talk with a knife in his mouth. ‘Even an ogre in name only a washout from the hidden mist can become a real demon in how he meets his death.’ He cuts Gato some more. ‘Once we’re in hill I can take my time, and show you over and over who is, or is not, a baby demon!’

‘So cool!’ Naruto’s eyes are sparkling. And he’s not the only one. Sasuke too is watching the screen with awe.

‘That really is an awesome exit.’

Gato falls to the ground. Dead. Zabuza stands, barely and bloody. Naruto watches in awe. He never imagined there would be someone that strong.

Zabuza is happy with what he’s able to achieve, even if there are some regrets. It’s goodbye now, Haku. Thanks for everything and I’m sorry… Zabuza also falls to the ground.

‘Is that it?’ Hinata asks the people in the room.

‘There are still remaining bandits.’ Sasuke is quick to point out. How are they going to be dealing with them?

‘That doesn’t sound too good.’

This does mean that the bandits are free to do whatever they want. And since they aren’t exactly intelligent they decide to attack the remaining ninja. Off they go!

‘This isn’t good.’ Kakashi says.

‘Kakashi-sensei. Isn’t there some technique we can use to take them all down at once?’ Naruto asks.

‘There are multiple, but I think they wouldn’t want to destroy the bridge they’re protecting.’ Jiraiya explains. There are plenty large-scale attacks but most of them destroy the environment as well. Which in this case isn’t something they want.

‘Probably.’ Kakashi shrugs. He doesn’t really care.

‘I’m afraid, with the lighting blade, the illusions and conjurations for the moment, I’ve exhausted my chakra.’

Luckily, it’s at this time that the townspeople decide to retaliate. They gathered up their forces and are able to draw back the bandits. Along with some shadow clones from Naruto and Kakashi. This does make the bandits decide to run away.

‘Isn’t that just the most useful jutsu.’ Shisui snorts. In his opinion the shunshin is still better. But Naruto most certainly is creative with it. He recalls that harem technique well enough.

‘I want to learn!’ Sasuke holds up his hand.

‘When you’ve got the skills necessary.’ His mother scolds him.

Kakashi makes his way over to Zabuza because he’s somehow still alive.

‘Looks like it’s all over, eh, Kakashi.’ Zabuza manages to get out of his mouth. ‘Kakashi do me a favor?’

‘This is the end.’ Jiraiya says.

‘What is it?’

‘I want to see his face.’

‘What a sweet request.’ Ino swoons. Sure, this relationship between them is a little strange but it’s still sweet.

‘Now that his secret is out he might as well lean into it.’ Neji explains. It’s what he would do as well.

‘I would want the same thing.’

Kakashi nods and puts down his headband. He picks the man up and brings him over to Haku. It’s starts snowing. In the middle of summer.

‘If I could. If I were able. I would want to go to the same place on the other side as you.’ Zabuza caresses Haku’s face. One of the snow particles falls down near Haku’s eyes, as if he’s crying.

‘Symbolic much.’ Shikaku points out. He’s never seen anything like it.

‘Some people might have someone looking out for them from above.’ Kakashi says. Too bad there is no such person looking out for him. Or else he wouldn’t have lived through so many tragedies.

Naruto is also crying. ‘He was born in a village where it snows a lot.’

‘I see.’ Kakashi isn’t really focused on Naruto’s nonsense. ‘He was a pure spirit as true and clean as a newly fallen snow.’ You can go with him, Zabuza, go to that place together.

Then the scene ends.

‘That was certainly something.’ Kakashi sighs. That Zabuza certainly gave him something to think about.

‘At least we’re all fine.’ Sakura smiles. Sure, they didn’t see much of her but at least she lived.

‘Sasuke could probably use a hospital though.’ Naruto snickers.

Sasuke doesn’t really object. ‘That’s true.’

‘There’s not much we learned from that.’ Shikaku points out.

‘It was an alright show. It gave some depth to the world.’ Hiashi adds.

Shisui did take a couple notes. Even if it wasn’t a whole lot. ‘Can’t really argue with that.’

Notes:

Boy girl person is named Haku and works with Zabuza
If Naruto gets really angry foxy comes out
Therapy is a valuable technique in reforming villains
Sasuke is a living pincushion

‘What’s up next?’ Naruto asks the screen.

‘I want to see something really cool again!’ Lee adds. The last scene was too cool to pass up.

‘We just saw something.’ Neji points out. What? He admits that was pretty cool. No need to get stuck up about it.

The screen lights up and on it they could read the words. ‘Are you a Scorpio?’

‘No, I’m not.’ Sakura clearly states.

Chapter Text

The scene starts with Sakura looking terrified. They can’t see what she’s staring at yet.

‘We get to see Sakura again!’ Naruto bounces in his chair out of happiness. Something about seeing Sakura on the screen makes him really happy.

‘That’s been a while.’ Sasuke nods along. He can’t wait to see what fate has in store for their teammate.

Just facing him like this, I can sense the huge difference in our experience. And in our death tolls. She gulps.

There is an old lady next to her. ‘Sakura be brave. I’m here with you. Stay behind and watch.’ She reaches within one of her sleeves and pulls out a string of kunai. She throws it at the enemy who is apparently Sasori.

‘Who’s that?’ Kiba asks. He’s never seen her before and he’s seen a lot of old ladies before.

‘That’s not someone I’m familiar with.’ Tsume nods along. She knows most of the elderly in the village through different connections. But she’s never seen her before.

‘And they’re fighting Sasori.’ Lee points out. They’ve seen Sasori before. He’s a member of the Akatsuki.

Sasori is able to deflect the weapons with ease but neither Sakura and the old lady seem too concerned. ‘If you’re going to play like that, I suppose you leave me no choice. So, granny Chiyo you want to join my collection, then? Along with the brat behind you?’

‘Ah. Now I know who she is.’ Shikaku says. He’s heard of her before. She’s a bit of old news but she’s still significant.

‘Who?’ Shikamaru asks his dad.

‘She’s one of the most feared puppet masters in the world. She’s from the Sand.’ He explains. He can’t really go into too much detail right now.

‘Sounds lame.’ Naruto pouts. Why can’t she be something cooler, like a beekeeper. At least they get the honey.

‘Don’t underestimate it.’ Shikaku warns. People tend to underestimate these kinds of people, but they really shouldn’t. They should be feared like any other ninja.

Sakura is shocked. It seems that she realized what the man meant by that.

‘First, I pull out the entrails, then I skin the body clean. Then I drain the blood, down to the last drop.’ Sasori says every single word with no emotion. There is a blank look on his face.

‘Gross.’ Ino says. She’s never heard someone talk about something so gross so casually before.

‘I agree. That’s gross.’ Sakura nods. How can he be that gross?

‘Sakura, that’s not Sasori’s body. That’s just a puppet.’ Chiyo explains to the girl.

‘Let me guess. He’s going to be really handsome underneath.’ Shisui grumbles.

Sasuke tilts his head. ‘Why?’

‘Somehow it always works like that.’ He’s seen it before. It’s like all the handsome people in the world want to hide themselves away. Except for those who are not aware of their own handsomeness. Like Itachi.

Sasori just continues talking. ‘Add in a few preservatives, then just string up what’s left and we have a brand-new marionette. The hag is right. This form you see is just one piece from my collection.’ The camera closes in on his face. ‘The two of you should bump up my oeuvre to three hundred exactly. That’s my art!

‘Keep it to yourself!’ Ino shouts at the screen. She can’t stand people like that. It reminds her of that one man that used to follow her a while back. She hasn’t seen him since her father got rid of him though.

‘Yeah!’ Naruto shouts with her.

Sakura nods. ‘I can kind of tell that’s not his body. But then, where is he? Puppet masters work from offstage, right? So, where are the strings?’ Sakura asks.

‘His body is inside the puppet.’ Chiyo explains. Sakura is shocked. ‘Puppet masters aren’t so good with close combat. Since fussing with their marionettes leaves them wide open to attack. To overcome that weakness, he created this puppet. It serves as his armor and as his weapon. It’s Sasori favorite puppet. I’m familiar with it. It’s called Hiruko.’

‘That’s pretty smart. But that puppet doesn’t seem to allow for that great range of motion.’ Fugaku points out. He doubts Sasori could jump from inside that puppet. So, if someone were to suddenly remove the ground beneath him he would be at a disadvantage.

‘I still think we should be scared. He is part of the Akatsuki for a reason.’ Mikoto points out.

‘Okay, so, how do we fight him?’ Sakura asks the lady.

‘Well, until we drag Sasori out of Hiruko, there’s no point. What makes this puppet formidable is its mechanism. We don’t know how or from where it may launch its attack.’

‘But granny, you know how Hiruko functions inside out. We have the advantage.’ Sakura tells the woman.

‘Indeed, that’s why at first I thought I could deal with him on my own, but it seems that will not be the case.’

‘That’s not good news.’ Itachi mumbles.

Shikamaru shrugs. ‘It would have been too easy otherwise.’

‘I don’t think Sasori would like someone knowing how his puppets worked.’ If Neji were in his situation he most certainly wouldn’t.

‘That would be a large disadvantage.’ Tenten agrees with him.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Hiruko has changed somewhat, since I last saw it.’ Chiyo sighs. It’s not a good sign. ‘For one, the shell didn’t look like that. He must have heightened its defenses and the left arm, it’s new to me.’

‘It looks like a turtle.’ Naruto laughs. It might not be too obvious, but he can see it.

‘Not really.’ Sakura mutters. She just hopes her future self manages to get out of this alive. Killing him would of course be a bonus.

‘So, if he’s changed that much, there’s a chance he also changed its crucial hidden mechanisms.’ Sakura turns to look at Sasori. ‘So, how do we fight it?’

‘Before we tackle Sasori, we must break Hiruko. I can’t destroy it alone. I’m nowhere near strong enough. However, Sakura.’ Chiyo gives her a side glance. ‘You are. With your training, you wield the brute force of lady Tsunade herself.’

‘They’re going to cause some earthquakes. Aren’t they?’ Fugaku shudders. His Tsunade phobia hasn’t lessened over the years. Every time an actual earthquake happens he’s reminded of the constant ones that used to hit the village back when she was actually a part of it.

‘I hope they aren’t close to a village. It wouldn’t survive with all those earthquakes.’ Tsume agrees with him.

Realization dawns on Sakura.

‘Now, listen carefully. The first step is to get close and shatter the puppet, the catch is you must dodge every attack it puts forth.’

‘The poison you mean.’ It seems that Sakura has some sort of experience with it.

‘Poison? That too. No wonder he’s so scary.’ Tenten grumbles. Maybe she should start dabbling in poisons. It would improve her game significantly.

Itachi agrees. ‘Poison users are always a pain to fight.’ He’s had some run ins with some. They are some of the most annoying battles to fight.

‘That’s right. Even a scratch will prove fatal.’ Chiyo warns her. ‘To evade attack, you must understand the puppet master’s style. You must anticipate his moves instantly.’

‘Understand the puppet master? Make snap judgements? I can’t really do either.’ Sakura argues back.

‘That could be a problem.’ Chouji takes another bite of his chips. Even if Sasori’s gross words might have lessened his taste at the moment.

‘True. These things take years of experience.’

‘Then how?’

‘I wonder what you see when you look at me. A helpless old woman? Or…’ Chiyo reaches up and undoes her hair style. Her hair falls down but it’s not really graceful or anything. ‘Just count on me. That’s why I’m here. His experience doesn’t even compare to mine. Besides… I’ve already made my first move.’ This gets another shocked reaction from Sakura. ‘Sakura lean closer. Together we shall finish him.’

They seem to talk to each other for a bit, but the audience doesn’t get to see it.

‘What are they planning?’ Naruto whispers into Sasuke’s ear.

Sasuke shrugs. ‘Watch and see. It’s not like I now either.’

‘Got it. I’ll give it a shot.’ Sakura nods but there is a little bit of sweat on her face.

‘Are we all ready?’ Sasori starts speaking. ‘I hate waiting. You must know that.’

‘Yet you did it anyway.’ Shisui points out. A lot of these people in these scenes do that. In real life that rarely happens.

‘Awfully convenient.’ Shikaku mutters. If only people did that with him and his friends. That would work to their advantage.

‘If it works it works.’ Sakura isn’t going to complain. It might safe her life.

‘Don’t worry. We’ll waste no time in killing you!’ Chiyo yells and the battlefield bursts into action. Sasori lowers the mask on the puppets face and from it a hole emerges. Sakura runs to Sasori. Out of the mouth several senbon launch themselves at the two ladies. Both Sakura and Chiyo manage to dodge the attack and next thing they know a flying arm is between them. Out of this arm several other projectiles make their way over to the two of them. But again, both Chiyo and Sakura manage to make quick work of the attack.

Sasori stares at the two of them. Even the brat made it…

‘Take that you barbie!’ Naruto yells this time. For some reason he finds a need to compare things on screen to things he’s seen in his life.

‘I don’t think he’s a barbie.’ Sasuke is quick to point out.

In return Naruto gives him a shove. ‘Who cares…’

Then Sakura runs at Sasori again and actually manages to get relatively close. Sasori sends the tail of the puppet at her but the ladies got some tricks up their sleeves. Just as the tail is about to hit Sakura moves out of the way.

It seems that Chiyo connected some threads to Sakura and uses that to move Sakura out of the way of danger.

‘That’s an interesting technique.’ Hiashi nods in approval. Something like that would allow a short-range fighter to get out of the scene at record speed without having to watch their surroundings too much.

‘I haven’t seen anything like it. Nor have I heard of someone doing something like that.’ Chouza nods along while eating some pizza that he found on the table with food.

‘Sakura, now! Strike it down!’ Chiyo yells.

Sakura gets up and close. Raises her fist and puts it down with as much force as she possible can. ‘Yes!’ She yells out.

The puppet cracks and shatters beneath the force of Sakura’s attack. The pieces of the broken puppet fall to the ground. A black blob appears from within the puppet and makes sure to get out of the way as quick as it can. Both Sakura and Chiyo deduce that this must be Sasori’s real body.

‘Go Sakura!’ Lee cheers. Sakura is so cool!

‘Kick his ass!’ Naruto cheers her on as well.

‘I should have expected no less from my own granny.’ Sasori speaks. His voice is a little different from when he was within the puppet. ‘No wonder even the kid could dodge my attack. Steering her with threads of chakra.’

Sakura gulps. The cat is out of the bag.

Itachi blinks. ‘Where is it?’

Shisui laughs. ‘I don’t think they mean a literal cat.’

‘Aw.’ Itachi’s pouting now. He wanted to pet a cat. Because cats are awesome.

‘And moreover. You took control of Hiruko’s tail while you were at it. I noticed when the tail stalled on me.’ Sasori is still not facing them.

‘That makes things easier.’ Shikaku shrugs.

‘I used the tiniest amount of chakra to keep it invisible, but you figured it out.’ Chiyo smiles.

‘But of course. Remember who taught me how to play with puppets? Who drilled the talent into me? It was you.’

‘Family tradition?’ Sasuke suggests. He can’t imagine himself having to grow up like that. That would be boring.

‘Sounds fun.’ Shisui laughs. ‘Here for our bonding we’re going to play with dolls.’

‘They’re puppets. Not dolls.’ Itachi corrects him.

‘Aren’t they the same thing?’

‘Not really.’

Chiyo sighs. ‘Indeed. But anyway, play time is over.’

‘So… you still think this’ll be easy? Granny Chiyo?’ There is no emotion in Sasori’s voice as he speaks but it comes over condescending still. His face is now visible and both Chiyo and Sakura are shocked. Something is wrong.

‘I said he would be handsome.’ Shisui laughs.

Fugaku stares at the screen. ‘He looks quite young though.’

‘You’re right. He should have definitively looked older.’ The Hokage agrees with him. Even at this point in time he should be in his twenties. He doesn’t look much older than Shisui.

‘Granny Chiyo? This is Sasori?’ Sakura looks towards the other lady.

Chiyo meanwhile is in shock. What is happening? All these years and not a day on him.

‘He looks even younger than Sakura there.’ Tsume points out.

Shikaku stares at the screen. ‘Now that’s odd.’ He already has some suspicions on what could be going on here.

Sasori takes out a scroll. ‘Let me show you my favorite. You know this one was hard to finish.’ The scroll slowly unravels. It has the puppet sealed inside. The summoning smoke appears. ‘But that’s what makes me so fond of him.’

Chiyo gets an even more surprised look on her face. ‘No, that’s not…’

‘What? What is it?’ Sakura asks. She’s starting to panic now.

‘That’s the third Kazekage.’

‘Huh?’ The collective gasp of the people in the room could be heard.

‘The real one? Or a copy?’ Iruka wonder out loud.

Kakashi sighs. ‘I hope it’s the latter.’

‘I agree.’ Iruka does. He doesn’t want to think that someone could preserve a corpse that way.

Sasori makes sure to make an awesome pose and laughs. ‘Shall we begin?’

‘The third Kazekage. You mean?’ Sakura looks at Chiyo for the answer.

‘It was more than ten years ago. The third Kazekage vanished suddenly.’ She turns to look at her grandson. ‘Sasori. So, it was you!’

‘Like many of us suspected.’ The Hokage sighs. Not many people have spoken out about it, but most had come to their own conclusions.

‘Their disappearances did happen around the same time. It wasn’t too hard to make the connection.’ Shikaku points out. He’s one of the people that came up with the theory.

‘Hmph. A retired witch, already one foot in the grave. Yet you still trouble yourself.’ Sasori stares at her. It’s like he doesn’t understand what she’s doing.

‘He’s being awfully rude to her.’ Neji points out. He wouldn’t want to speak like that to any of the elders within the clan.

‘No shit. If I would refer to my grandma like that I would be six feet under already.’ Shisui shudders.

Itachi nods. ‘Yes. Auntie is scary.’

‘Retired, yes. One foot in the grave, maybe. But that doesn’t prevent my getting around. There are just too many things left undone.’ Chiyo replies. Her hands are still connected to the strings. ‘My grandson, degrading himself. Becoming a criminal… well, that’s one thing. But betraying the village? Participating in the deaths of three Kazekage.’

‘Three?’ Sakura’s counting on her fingers. ‘There are only four, right?’

‘Gaara is one too.’ Naruto points out.

‘It’s still most of them.’ Someone that can take out three Kage is a serious threat.

‘Three of them?’ Sakura wonders out loud.

‘It was Orochimaru who actually killed Gaara’s father, the fourth Kazekage. But Sasori was complicit from the start. And now Gaara and the third Kazekage.’ Chiyo accuses Sasori.

‘That’s an interesting list of characters. He’s the only Akatsuki member that we know of that killed a Kage.’ Shikamaru starts.

Tsume nods. ‘That makes him extra dangerous.’

‘You’re right. Deidara, we don’t know what he did. Kakuzu tried to kill the First Hokage but failed. Hidan is not from the big villages. Kisame and Itachi from what we know didn’t kill a Kage either.’ There are still a lot of unknowns, Neji has to admit.

‘There is also that Pain guy.’ Naruto points out. He doesn’t like that guy. He destroyed the village.

‘He destroyed the village. I don’t know if he managed to kill Tsunade.’ Shikamaru points out.

Iruka meanwhile is focused on other things. ‘Are we just going to ignore that he mentioned Orochimaru?’

‘But he’s not part of the Akatsuki, right?’ Sakura asks. If he is then that would be scary.

‘Maybe he was at some point. It wouldn’t surprise me.’ Jiraiya sighs. Orochimaru is the guy that would abandon such a group and get away with it.

‘I wasn’t involved with the fourth. That was one of my agents. But yeah, Orochimaru and the Akatsuki go way back. We’ve done some work together.’ Sasori explains. This shocks Sakura for multiple reasons.

‘So, not anymore.’ Kakashi sighs. That’s a relief. He doesn’t want to have to deal with that snake man.

‘You… worked with Orochimaru.’ Her gaze turns serious. As if now she’s finally seeing him as the threat he is.

‘She’s getting angry now.’ Kiba is bouncing in his seat. Things are about to get epic.

‘Hm, it’s time to finish here.’ Sasori looks down on them as he talks.

He sends the puppet at Chiyo but she’s quick to intercept by using Sakura. However, Sasori was prepared for that and quickly counters by showing of some of the weapons hidden inside the puppet. Just as the claws are about to hit her Chiyo manages to wedge the tail of Hiruko in between them.

Next thing he does is open up the left arm of the puppet. Inside there are the ball joints and the sides of the arms have storage seals edged on them. As they’re undone more and more arms appear from within the arm. Creating a barrage of arms at them. He directs it at Sakura and Chiyo and this time it does actually hit the ground. Luckily, Chiyo managed to get Sakura to dodge them all just in time. Not much later she pulls Sakura from out of the arms and back to her side.

‘That’s an odd attack.’ Neji says. He never would have come up with something like that.

‘Definitively one of the strange ones I’ve seen.’ Hiashi agrees with him.

However, Sasori is quick to attack once again. This time by undoing one of the arm pieces and a gas appears from within. The gas fills the area and they are of the conclusion that it must be some sort of poison.

Chiyo tries to pull her away once again but this time it doesn’t work. Sasori has bound her to himself using a kunai and rope. It leaves her hanging inside the poison gas.

‘No! Sakura.’ Naruto’s eyes are wide. He didn’t want something like that to happen. Even he can see that this is not good news.

‘Don’t breathe it in. Then she would be safe.’ Iruka tells them. But even he knows how hard that is.

Sakura tries to hold her breath. I promised Naruto. That I’d go with him. I vowed that the next time I’d protect them both. Both Naruto and Sasuke appear on the screen. I’m not done for. Not yet! She takes out a tag and uses it to dispel the poison from her. It does damage her in the process as well.

‘Risky move. But it worked.’ Shikaku doesn’t nod. Such a thing is really risky and he doesn’t want to give anyone ideas.

‘You kids better not do anything like that unless it’s absolutely necessary. Got it?’ Mikoto tells the younger ones. They all nod.

‘Yes ma’am.’

Sakura is pissed. ‘I will get you! You can blow my limbs off! You can poison me until I can’t move, and I’ll still get you!’ She shouts at Sasori. ‘No matter what you pull! No matter what you’ve got. I’ll drag you to the edge of death and make you scream all about Orochimaru.’

‘Sheesh. That’s a lot.’ Ino is impressed. Who knew Sakura could be vicious like that.

‘I’d say go for it.’ Hinata mumbles.

Sasori doesn’t reply. Instead he sends a barrage of kunai her way. Chiyo is quick to intercept them. She takes out two puppets of her own. A man and a woman.

‘When a woman is talking a man does well to listen quietly.’ She tells him.

Sasori seems a little surprised with those two puppets. ‘Oh. Those…’

‘Are they special?’ Kiba asks. He’s never seen them before. But then again. He’s never seen any puppets before.

‘I’ve never heard of them. If that’s meaningful to you.’ Fugaku tells them.

‘Not really. You look like you live under a rock.’ Naruto tells him straight up. The man does have really large eyebags.

‘I’m not from Iwa.’ Is all he gets in response.

‘That’s right. The very first puppets you created. The mother and the father.’ The puppets she brought forth resemble Sasori’s parents quite well.

‘He created puppets that look like his parents.’ Sakura stares at the screen in awe.

Hinata looks down. ‘That’s kind of sad. If you think about it.’ Sometimes she wishes she could hug her mother again as well

Iruka is concerned with something else. ‘Kakashi what’s wrong?’ The man in question turned even paler than he already was. Something must be bothering him.

‘Nothing.’ But in his voice you could hear that there most certainly was something going on.

‘What do you expect to do with them now? I made them. I know their workings inside out.’ Sasori says. But Chiyo doesn’t falter.

She lets the puppets connect their hands and when they part strings are attached between the two of them. She sends them at the arm mess Sasori created earlier and lets them cut it up into small little pieces. Sasori quickly removes the puppet out of harm’s way and starts working of the counter attack.

‘That’s neat.’ Lee cheers. They are moving so fast. How can someone do that by just moving their fingers. He would like to try to do that sometime.

‘Go for it!’ Naruto and Kiba yell out.

Sakura can only stare in wonder.

‘This is becoming a nuisance. Better speed things along.’ Sasori smiles and he opens the mouth of the puppet. From the mouth a black substance appears and starts covering the area.

‘What in the world?’ Inoichi blinks. Is he seeing that correctly. Could that be?

‘That’s interesting.’ A smirk appears on Shikaku’s face. This is starting to get entertaining.

Chiyo doesn’t seem too surprised. ‘As I figured, that puppet can use the third Kazekage’s own jutsu.

‘That’s not good. Is it?’ Sasuke turns to the adults for an explanation.

Mikoto nods. ‘Not at all.’

‘Why?’ Naruto is confused.

‘I have a feeling they’ll explain.’

‘Haven’t seen it for a while, have you? If you recall, this is what made his name as the most powerful of all.’ Sasori stares them down.

‘Things are going to get messy.’ Chiyo sighs.

‘What on earth?’ Sakura can only stare in wonder.

‘It’s the most feared weapon in Sunagakure. The iron sand.’ Chiyo explains. ‘The third Kazekage was graced with a special constitution that allowed him to convert his chakra into magnetic forces.’

‘Oh. So, he uses physics. Like in those boring lessons from Iruka.’ Naruto falls back into his chair as he remembers the most boring lessons of his life.

Sasuke laughs. ‘Naruto. I think every ninja uses physics.’

‘We walk on water. I think it’s safe to say we don’t always use physics.’ Shisui tells him otherwise.

‘What do you mean? That thing’s just a puppet, right? How can a doll hold chakra?’ Sakura asks back.

‘Well that puppet is a human puppet, built from a real cadaver. Like a battery, it kept what chakra the body had possessed in life.’ Chiyo explains the gross truth. ‘Sasori is the only one who can produce human puppets. Whomever he makes his puppet, Sasori has access to that person’s jutsu. Ultimately that’s what gives him such supreme power.’

‘That’s a scary thought.’ Hinata doesn’t even want to think about it. If someone could steal someone else’s power. They would certainly become feared.

‘He’s someone we’ll have to look out for.’ Shisui says and he goes to put it down in his notes.

Sasori seems a little amused by the explanation. ‘Oh, there’s more to it than that. Remember of all my collection this one is my favorite.’

‘Sakura you get away from here. I’ll take care of this.’ Chiyo says. ‘I did not expect this. You’re no match for him now, not with this card at play.’

‘What is she going to do?’ Kiba wonders. Isn’t she already really old.

‘There are quite a couple of powerful techniques to her name. I’d say pick one and stick with it.’ Shikaku goes to explain. She was one of the most feared ninjas when he was their age. One should never underestimate an elderly ninja. No matter how much age might cripple them.

Sasori goes for the attack. He sends the magnetic sand like bullets at the two women. Chiyo quickly uses the female puppet to put Sakura out of the way. While the male puppet makes a shield to protect her.

‘So, you did fiddle a bit. Chakra shield, huh? Quite an upgrade since last I played with them.’ Sasori smirks in a very subtle way.

‘Played with them? Did he put them on unsuspecting victims or something?’ Shino wonders. The kids snicker at that.

‘They would be useful for pranks.’ Naruto could see the use them that way.

‘Let’s not think about that.’ Iruka tells him firmly. Naruto using puppets would be an absolute nightmare. He already gets those dastardly shadow clones.

But the attack did more damage than it would first seem. The puppet’s joints are filled with iron sand now and it limits their movements.

‘That’s not good.’ Itachi mutters. The rest of the group agrees with him.

‘The iron sand has seeped into the doll. So long as I have the magnetic power of the third Kazekage that thing can’t last.’ Sasori is pretty sure of his victory.

Sakura glares at him.

‘This time I’ll attack both of you at once!’ Sasori says. ‘Just to make sure you’re really dead. I’ll use my most lethal forms.’ He does some motions and the iron sand starts to form once again. This time focusing on them both. ‘One puppet, two people. Can’t protect both. What do you say to that witch?’ Let’s see which one will die.

‘Please protect Sakura. I don’t want her to die.’ Naruto whispers. He really likes Sakura. She’s really pretty and cool.

‘Yeah. She’s too cool for that.’ Sasuke agrees. She is one of his teammates after all. And he’ll make sure to take good care of them.

Another hidden compartment hidden inside the puppet opens up and from it appear a force that hits them both at the same time. The impact shatters the ground. Sakura can only use her arms to protect herself. As the dust clears the people can see the result of the attack clearly.

Sakura is protected by the puppet using a chakra shield while Chiyo has opened up her own arm and uses that as a shield.

‘Did she turn herself into a puppet?’ Shino blinks a couple times, but nobody sees because his glasses are covering his eyes.

‘That’s freaky.’ Chouji agrees with him. Even if Shino himself is also freaky.

‘Why not a robotic arm. That could be way cooler.’ Naruto complains. He’s seen it in some of the movie he watches.