Chapter Text
The pain in my chest is because of a personal failure, Naruto thought morosely as Sasuke's hand pulled out of his chest.
The mission was simple, go after Sasuke and bring him back to the Leaf Village. The promise made had been simple, the promise of a lifetime! All Naruto had to do was bring Sasuke back. However, it seemed that he was too incapable of that, not strong enough even with the internal help from his 'roommate'. The failure stung, and it would have turned into determination if it wasn't for one fact - Naruto could tell that he was dying. Truthfully though, at least something good came out of it. Sasuke was crying over him, repeating sorry over and over. Maybe that guilt would be enough for him to go back to the village... That made it all worth it. As long as his teammates were alright...
Naruto's vision faded to black.
Then light, a blinding light. There was a weird feeling, of something intangible, something just out of reach. Suddenly Naruto's vision focused, and there was two figures before him. One seemed to have a weird lazy aura around him, arguing with the female before him. Speaking of the female, she was, well, indescribably. Whenever you tried to get a good look at her face, it changed into the face of someone utterly different. It was almost headache inducing.
"Ah, our guest! You died right on time." The female said, her voice cheerful, but her expression not giving any such emotion away.
"You see, the thing is that this guy over here? He died way before his time. I can't have that, it's bad for business. People living longer? That's not really an issue, but dying too soon? Paperwork nightmare! So, despite the fact that this guy is aruging over it, you don't have a choice. Sooo... You'll intertwinned and set back as one. Have a good life!"
Naruto didn't even know what was happening, and the lazy figure seemed to tense, readying to argue, when light erupted again, then pain.
Thoughts he'd never had.
Memories he'd never lived.
Emotions he'd never felt.
Darkness.
When Naruto woke up, he wasn't himself anymore. Instead, he was both Naruto and Omoi. They were now one being, it was weird, because he couldn't think of a time where they had been apart, although he knew they had been. What was the most weird was that as Omoi, they had lived longer, like, into the future longer. Fourth Great Ninja War longer, although Naruto wasn't good at processing the emotions that he got from the brutality of that, Omoi was a pro at it.
They actually balanced each other out surprisingly well.
Now there was just to decide what to do. Ultimately, Naruto ended up giving the most dominate traits, and he wanted to protect the Leaf Village far stronger than Omoi wanted to even see anyone from the Lightening Village. Never mind the fact that if he was in Naruto's body, that meant that he was young, which meant that his own self was probably already a part of his own team. There would be no place for Omoi there, because there was already someone present to fill that role. Naruto's determination in that field was simply too strong to fight. So they certainly weren't leaving, but there were other things to consider as well. Having memories of the future meant knowing about the war, as previously stated, but it also meant that they knew just how much danger that they were in, just how fucking bad the shit storm coming was. Omoi was a deep thinker, someone who overreacted to things such as this, hell, if someone blew air at him he'd think it would cause some sort of natural disaster, so these memories...? Clearly they needed to do some serious training.
Considering the memories that they both shared now, they could advance far faster.
Although all these thoughts were distracting from the real issue.
Just where were they?
Naruto knew that he'd just died, but shouldn't that at least cause him to be brought back to the hospital? However for some reason he was in his own bed, in his apartment, without so much as a trace of injury on him other than some deep seeded aching, probably from the mashing. Sitting up, trying to withhold a wince of pain, Naruto looked at his calendar, only to get the shock of a life time. Because if this was correct... It was the day before the Genin team assignments.
Automatically Naruto started to OVER think things for the first time in his life. Omoi traits were sinking in apparently, because all Naruto could think of all the sudden was the fact that if he stepped on just one bug, all the sudden the future would be completely different and the world would end up blowing up. There was no end to the thoughts, just going on and on in a circle of the worst possibilities. He sat their for something like twenty minutes before Naruto's determination kicked those thoughts in the ass.
'Nothing can be done, no matter what I have to go out. Even if I wanted to I can't avoid chancing everything, so the best thing to do is be ready for the worst possible situation by getting as strong as possible.' Naruto thought, forcing his mind to focus.
A plan needed to be made.
Thinking over his memories of Kakashi's 'training' Naruto knew that he would have plenty of free time to better himself. With the memories of Omoi, that suddenly became so much easier, considering the fact that in that life he'd been a Joinin. That didn't even come close to discounting the pure amount of training that he'd have to do to even reach what his level had been as Omoi. Never mind the fact that everything was different, a different body, different chakra amount, probably even different elemental affinities.
Shit
SHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT
Naruto needed to do his Ninja Registration Card in about five hours. He'd completely forgot!
Rushing in to take a quick shower, Naruto noticed something in the mirror that shocked him. He looked different, like, really different. His hair had changed from blonde to a pure white colour, similar to what Omoi had in life, although it kept the same style. His skin was also a few shades darker, although nothing as drastic as a Lightning Village colouring. Finally, there were subtle changes to his bodies make up, probably having to do with the training that Omoi had done previously, it seemed that all was not lost in that department. Most of the changes were easy to explain, after all Naruto wore a jump suit, a lot could be explained by just saying that the jump suit itself drew all the attention away from Naruto's usual colouring and body type, and as Naruto was a prankster, he could just say that he used some of his hair dye to change his hair colour. It was relatively simple.
It also involved getting ride of his jump suit.
Surprisingly enough, not even Naruto had strong feelings toward the thing. Although he did like orange, he knew the dangers and stupidity of the jump suit drawing attention - It was just that no stores would sell him anything good.
The clarity of thought that Naruto had now since Omoi had boosted his IQ in general allowed him to think about using the transformation technique to shop, which honestly was something Naruto knew he should have thought of before. Shaking his mind clear of thoughts, Naruto jumped into the shower and made quick work of cleaning himself, wanting to get shoping as quickly as possible.
When getting dressed, it occurred to him that he didn't need to use the transformation because he already looked different. Naruto just shrugged, that only made it all the easier.
Grabbing Gama-chan and checking his wallet, Naruto was glad to see it was quite full. He hadn't spent any of the money that he'd gotten for helping put that traitor away from the whole scroll situation. The amount was actually a lot, and with Omoi's knowledge he knew that the whole situation accounted for an A-Rank mission. The amount of money that you got from that should be enough to completely resupply yourself if you destroyed everything on the mission. Usually mission amounts were allocated like that, just a way to resupply and keep up day to day life, unless of course, you are good enough to not NEED the resupplying. That's when you make money.
There would be enough here to get the supplies Naruto was considering.
Plenty of ninja shops lined the streets, each of them serving several different purposes. The first one Naruto needed was apparel, weapons and such could wait, getting out of the jump suit? That was needed as soon as possible. Finding the place that he wanted, Naruto dipped inside and took a look around, the place was filled with various different types, mostly in black, grey's, and dark blues, but other colours were around, dulled greens, various different camouflage types. There were also a few vibrant colour schemes, for the people that knew how to use them correctly. (Usually Genjutsu users.)
Naruto walked over to the hoodie section, it was small, as not many ninja's decide to wear them, but Naruto knew that he would find them comfortable, considering what he wore as Omoi. Grabbing black hoodie that fit him, he moved on toward the pant section. Just grabbing some basic black pants, along with black sandals only a moment later. Coming up to the wrapping section, Naruto choose to grab black wrappings, but also some burnt orange ones. Maybe he would regret that, but honestly orange was his favourite colour. Besides, on his old Omoi outfit he'd had bright red wrappings, that was actually worse than this orange.
Naruto paid, but went into the dressing room to put the clothing on before leaving, he wasn't NOT going to go outside wearing that jumper again.
He also got several duplicates, going on his way, his arms carting a few bags.
The ninja weapon store was next. Naruto went in with pretty low expectations, just planning on getting some kunai, but there was a sudden pull inside of him. Omoi had been a swordsman, so good that he'd made parts of his own style, and Naruto suddenly WANTED. The shop had several swords, all shapes and sizes, but what Naruto was looking for was specific from Omoi's memories, a katana made with chakra conductive metal. It didn't take long to find, but it was EXPENSIVE. It suddenly made sense why A-Rank missions gave you that much money, because he could only just cover the costs of that sword and what it would cost for a brace on his back to hold it.
It was actually sincerely lucky that Naruto had a hidden stash of kunai hidden at home.
Getting a burnt orange holster and holder for his weapon almost made Naruto smile. The feeling of having a sword at his back almost made him feel... Safe, like no one could touch him. It wasn't something that Naruto had ever felt before, so he enjoyed it. Naruto raced back to his apartment and put the new clothing into the closet, taking all the old stuff out and placing it into the trash. The timing was pretty damn good apparently, because it was time to head over to the Hokage's office.
Taking the picture was no issue, neither was filling out the information. It was taught in the academy that Ninja Info Cards were a flimsy excuse for even the smallest bit of peace in between the villages. More over, it was to stop the majority reason for people to send actual spies into the other villages. If the information of most of the ninja was public, then there shouldn't be anywhere near as much reason to send droves of spies in.
Naruto carefully constructed his.
The picture came first, after which was the rest of the information:
Name: Naruto "Omoi" Uzumaki
Affiliation: Leaf Village
Rank: Genin
Parents: Orphan
Specialization: N/A
Blood Type: A+
Age: Twelve
Data-Book Stats: N/A
There were a few sections that weren't filled in until you became a Chunin, or until you became to well known. If the other villages were to 'discover' how powerful an individual ninja was, the info card would be updated to reflect strength, so it was the hope of all ninja to become stronger than the stats dictated, otherwise you were in a dangerous place.
Naruto felt the need to add in Omoi somehow, it wasn't right anymore for that name NOT to be a part of him, just as he was still Naruto, he was still Omoi.
Giving a light sigh, he took the paperwork up to the Hokage for his initiating meeting, where the Hokage would approve of the information that was placed in the paperwork and submit it to the archives.
Upon walking in, Naruto scanned the room. It was open, only two desks. One seated the Hokage, who actually didn't recognize him as Naruto walked in. This made Naruto feel somewhat mischievous, it boiled up inside of him. Trying to withhold those feelings from effecting the meeting, Naruto handed his paper over to the Hokage and took a seat, although it was somewhat stressful positioning for the seat to be in. It almost felt like an interrogation... Except without the torture that typically came with ninja interrogation. The Hokage looked the paperwork over, then processed what he read, then read it again, then looked up with mild shock on his face.
"Naruto-kun! You're looking quite different. What instigated this change?" The old man questioned, almost slightly amused at the situation.
Naruto gave a typical wide grin, "Would you believe me if I said I woke up this way? Don't worry Hokage-jiji, I haven't changed that much."
"Oh?"
Naruto remembered that this moment was important for the fact that it gained him his cute little stooge, and Naruto didn't want to miss out on the bond that had been created between the two of them, "That's right!"
With that said, Naruto placed his hands into a seal and exclaimed, "Oiroke no Jutsu!"
Naruto was replaced with an incredibly good looking version of himself as a female, naked, and purposely making suggestive moves toward the Hokage. This of course, gave the man a massive nosebleed, knocking him unconscious. It also forced Naruto to think back into his life as Omoi for a moment. As Naruto, he'd only ever been attracted Sakura. As Omoi however... He was older, and had several different sexual partners.... From both sexes.
Naruto had to force down a blush that threatened to rise on account of the memories, he'd sort out those thoughts when he was alone, not when he was in front of his pseudo-grandfather.
When the old man regained consciousness, he was suitably embarrassed, "What a powerful technique... Yes, clearly you haven't changed that much Naruto-kun."
Naruto brought a hand up, rubbing his neck sheepishly.
"OLD MAN, GET READY TO FIGHT! I'M GOING TO BE THE FIFTH HOKAGE!" A childish voice exclaimed, running toward the Hokage. The grandiose entrance and assassination attempt were ruined, by the fact that the young child tripped over his own scarf.
It caused Naruto to burst into laughter.
"HEY! Who are you laughing at, you're the one that tripped me. What do you have to say for yourself!?" The young man exclaimed, pointing at Naruto.
Naruto just continued to laugh, before teasingly saying, "You're so cute gaki, maybe make sure that your scarf isn't too long before you try to kill the Hokage again.~"
"You can't say stuff like that to me, don't you know who I am?! I'm the Grandson of the Third Hokage!"
"Yeah, but you aren't the Third himself, nor are you even a ninja yet, so I'm not seeing why I should respect that." Naruto said, this time in a half serious tone. After which Naruto walked off, hoping that he would end up having a little follower a moment later. As it would turn out, he did end up noticing almost immediately being followed by someone that had no idea how to hide their presence. At several points along the way, Naruto turned around to see the kid flash under a horrible disguise.
Naruto found it weirdly adorable, unlike last time where he just found it irritating. It must have been Omoi's influence then, "You know gaki, I've known you were following me right from the start. Is there something that you wanted?"
"PWAHAHAHA! So you figured me out! As expected from you, therefore I will allow you to take me on as your apprentice. First things first though, you need to teach me that technique that you used to take down my Grandpa!"
Naruto just smile, "Sure thing gaki, but first things first. If you want me to teach you the technique, we need supplies. I will give you the list of supplies, and when you bring them back, then I can finally teach you the technique."
The innocent kid just nodded his head up and down frantically. Naruto barely withheld a smirk before writing out the list. Really, it was almost like pulling an Ero-Sennin, but he wanted a few things that he no longer had money for... Plus he'd be teaching the kid something useful, so there was no shame in it. Just a little bit of payment in return for services.
- Lollipops
- Chakra Paper
Both of those things were relatively cheap, and would come in handy both for Naruto himself, as well as his new little apprentice. Once giving the kid the list, he blasted off toward the shopping district. Naruto estimated that he had about half an hour before the kid managed to get back here with the supplies, so he decided to think over the memories that had come to him when he was in the Hokages office - As embarrassing as that had been.
Omoi had been very open sexually, although he only have three different partners. Two males and one female, all of them extremely attractive. Naruto however, had only ever been physically attracted to Sakura, so the influx of different emotions like that was almost a shock to his system to realize, although that quickly faded. It didn't take him long to notice that he definitely gained Omoi's thoughts on the matter just in general, as Naruto's were practically non-exsistant that probably wasn't much of a shock. Really though, Naruto promised himself that he wouldn't get involved with someone anytime soon. Not only did he have far too much training to do, but also it would be pretty weird, he wasn't even sure he could be attracted to someone young now that he thought about it. Wouldn't that be weird? The more that he thought about it, the most lost in thought that he got. Omoi's pendent for deep thought kicking in again before his Naruto side noticed.
The moment that the kid came back, Naruto snapped out of it. He excitedly handed over the goods, the lollipop bag had a good 200 pops in it, Naruto could practically feel his mouth water. He ripped into the pack and put on into his mouth, resisting the urge to practically moan in satisfaction at the taste.
It wasn't only the taste though.
Weirdly, the feeling of having the lollipop in his mouth was almost a comfort.
Offering one to the kid, he sat down and sucked on it for a moment, waiting for Konohamaru to do the same.
"Alright, so the reason I had you get this paper is because it can tell you an important piece of information that you should keep in mind when learning jutsu, your Elemental Affinity. This means that those jutsu that match your affinity are the easiest to learn and use. I know that it doesn't have much to do with learning the Oiroke no Jutsu, but it's something you'll need to know eventually. The way to use it is to channel some of your chakra into the paper. Watch me!" Naruto picked up one of the five papers that Konohamaru brought and channeled chakra. The result was better than he anticipated, as it cricked up, then split in half. That meant that he still had his Lightning Affinity, but also that he gained a Wind Affinity.
"What does that mean?" A curious Konohamaru asked.
"It means that I have two different affinities, one with lightning and the other with wind. Here, you try it now." Naruto explained before handing Konohamaru a piece of paper.
The kid looked excited at that, held the paper, channeled chakra, and it burned around the edges.
"That means that you are a Fire Affinity. Alright, you should keep that in mind for future training no matter who the sensei is. Anyway, you wanted to learn the Oiroke no Jutsu right? This is going to take some intense training." Naruto said, his tone almost joking, "First things first. I'm sure you've learned the basics of the transformation jutsu right? Transform into me, so that I can see where you need to progress."
The kid nodded thoughtfully and performed the jutsu. Naruto looked older than he should, never mind was extremely fat. Still, he saw where the majority of the issues were, "Alright, I have some ideas. You are performing the handsign wrong to start off with. Switch dominate hands and that should help the chakra flow a lot. You are also not keeping in mind a clear image of me. You need to completely clear your mind of other thoughts and especially other people as you are learning to use this technique. Keeping that in mind, lets try again."
They continued on and on, each time getting better and better as Naruto pointed out the small little issues.
Konohamaru was getting breathless the more chakra he used. At the same time, he looked satisfied with the progress that he'd made during the training. His use of the handsign correctly was now continuous, never slipping into the mistake, and each time Konohamaru did the jutsu he never made the same mistake. Eventually the portions correctly fit Naruto, and most of the features were correct. The voice was VERY off, but the voice was the hardest part of the jutsu, so there wasn't much that could fix that other than continued practice.
The Thirds Grandson was too tired to continue on, sitting down, panting in exhaustion.
"You did really good Konohamaru-kun. Once you get the transformation itself down I will teach you the second part. Keep practicing and find me once you get it down, okay?" Naruto said, reaching down to give Konohamaru a pat on the head and a fond smile through his lollipop holding teeth.
"Thank you so much for your help, Boss! I'm sure I can learn everything that you've taught me and impress you. Then I can defeat grandpa and the people of the village will recognize me for the fact that I'm my own person." Konohamaru said, looking a mix of sad and determined, "That's definitely why I want to become Hokage."
Naruto thought back to his own reasoning for becoming Hokage, "The Hokage isn't about being recognized as being your own person. Being a Kage is about caring about the people in the village, being willing to give up anything and everything for them. Not only that, but you have to be strong, most likely the strongest person in the village. You also have to be smart, you need to know the laws, know about how the world works... Being Hokage, well, you need a kind of determination besides the want for people to see YOU. Otherwise, all you will do is put the village in danger." Naruto finished, looking almost sternly into Konohamaru's near stricken appearance.
Silence lasted for a good minute.
"I think it's about time I brought you back to the tower and to your grandfather now. I really hope that you think about what I said.... I also hope that you come back to learn the Oiroke no Jutsu, someone's got to keep that old man in line." Naruto finished teasingly, starting on his way back toward the Hokage tower, making sure the pestive thinking Konohamaru was trailing behind him.