Chapter 23: Edge of the Rain

Chapter Twenty Three – Edge of the Rain

"Self-sacrifice... A nameless shinobi who protects peace within its shadow. That is a true shinobi." - Uchiha Itachi

In a small bedroom closest to the lounge sat Naruto in a state of indifference. A needle was in her hand as she slowly but expertly sewed shut the hole in her pants. The thread was black, and it clashed against the orange fabric, but it was better than nothing.

After the cruel realization that Shino was gone, basically written out of history – because of her - Naruto found it a lot easier to focus. Maybe something finally snapped her endless optimism, the naive belief that everything could work out in the end.

It was a loss of innocence Naruto had believed impossible to lose. She'd already lived through enough shit for two lifetimes for this to be so significant. But yet it had changed her. Ebisu's death hadn't, neither had Obito's, but the loss of Shibi – and in extension Shino – had.

Naruto had previously believed that something like this would utterly destroy her. But the truth was she didn't feel broken. In fact she'd never been more intact. Never felt as in the moment as she currently did. It became apparent in the concentration she had on her current task. Simple though they might be. Sewing together a rift in her clothes.

Naruto had long since moved on after losing her friends, her life and even her own time. It was a necessity to stay alive. Many thought Naruto had no self-preservation instinct because of how boldly she battled – but that had never been the truth.

With a sigh Naruto pierced the needle into the fabric again; watching it disappear and feeling it slide against her finger on the other side. Stitch after stitch, she was patching her pants together. It made her imagine wistfully that her life could have such an easy fix too. Just some string, needle and a patch.

Ever since she was young Naruto had suppressed her thoughts and emotions. Stopped the ugly ideas from overwhelming her being. It required a good amount of lying. Mostly to herself, and in extent others.

She was fine. She was happy. She'd prove them wrong.

The mantra had been constant when she was young. It was the only way she knew how to get over how badly people treated her, seemingly for no reason at all.

With understanding came acceptance, and for the first time she really had been happy. Naruto understood why people had acted the way they did, and that made all the difference. Instead of getting revenge for their injustice towards her she had finally been able to move on. She understood what was needed.

But here in the past she was just one amongst many, a part of the crowd, something she'd never been allowed in her own time. No matter if the attention was positive or negative - mostly the latter – one of the sacrifices had been the lack of normality.

She had never been allowed to be just a kid. She was that kid. The different one. Here she was allowed to be just one many.

One who had no prejudice against her and forced to manage through her own skills. For once no one saw deeper than her face. They believed what they saw was what they got. Even her resemblance to the Yellow Flash was overlooked here.

Sure, some pointed it out. But just like Sai had resembled Sasuke by some odd twist of fate, people seemed to draw the same conclusion here. To them it was just a coincidence, and Naruto had let them continue to believe so.

Though it was good to not be infamous anymore, the price she had to pay for it was growing more and more suffocating to her. Shino and his father were dead. A matter which Naruto was starting to come to terms with.

They were casualties of war, like so many others. It proved that the future was not set in stone. Which she already knew, but somehow not quite believed. Now no illusions were left.

It had led to a shift of perception in Naruto, as it made her realize she was not living in the past.

This was now.

This was no longer the past, just as her original time was not the future. Because everything had the possibility to be rewritten. Everything she did mattered. Every second counted. The idea was both horrifyingly scary and desperately appreciated. It was cruel and redeeming in their separate ways.

Naruto tightened the string to secure the knot after her last stitch. Watching as the fabric stretched. Holding the pants up, she studied her handiwork. It was a job well done and a small smile graced her lips.

It was all patched together now.

Black stitches on orange fabric. Proof they'd been broken and sown together at some point. Naruto found it oddly symbolic. It was just a pair of pants after all.

After folding up her clothes and pushing them into a corner for easy access in the morning, Naruto reached for her night lamp to turn it off. While trying to get comfortable she was still smiling absentmindedly.

Shino's loss in the near future would not be in vain, because Naruto would make sure the future left to her would not become as screwed up as it had been in her own time. No matter what the Kyūbi said, she would not lose hope. It just meant she had to work harder, and instead of hoping and praying for a greater good – maybe she could just fix it herself.

An early Tuesday the Third Great Shinobi War came to an end.

The people who caught wind of the news first were the shopkeepers, who always somehow knew official news before everyone else. From there they spread the word to the whole village before the Hokage held an official speech that same afternoon, declaring their long suffering over.

Naruto first heard it from Orochimaru around the same time as the shopkeepers, because her team had a morning briefing before guard duty.

Naruto didn't feel like celebrating this matter though. It was a relief, but far from what she'd expected. People were still suffering because so many lives had been turned upside down over the last few years. So many had died. Children had become orphans and wives had turned to widows.

Most of all was the fact that people had changed.

Even Naruto didn't feel the same anymore, and it was not because she was growing older for the second time.

The battles were burned into her mind. Nothing was as noticeable as the people who were missing amongst their midst. There was a loud absence of those who no longer was with them, and friends who had once depended on each other had grown apart.

Gai and Genma was a perfect example of this. They were still friends, still trusted each other completely, but Gai was more interested in being friends with Kakashi than hanging out with Genma on their days off.

Genma himself didn't want any best friends, he was reluctant to let anyone that close, and instead choose to have many half close friends. The two who had bonded over the death of their teammate was simply not that close anymore. They had changed too much.

Naruto could relate. In many ways Anko and Naruto had changed too. Their characteristics could still be described similarly. Loud. Energetic. Crass. Pushy. But the way they expressed these qualities had developed differently.

Anko had never let anyone give her any crap, but it had grown worse during the war. Everything she was had intensified, while Naruto had calmed down. Luckily they were still best friends though. Their differences actually made them better friends. The war had brought them closer where others had slipped apart.

Where Genma had been confirmed in his belief that growing close ties would only cause pain later down the road, Obito's death had proved something else to Naruto.

Even after everything Naruto kept her heart unguarded. The pain of losing them was a constant fear, but it was outweighed by the happiness of having friends who counted on and trusted her completely.

Now that the war was over it didn't mean the danger was gone and all her friends were safe, but it did leave her with renewed motivation. It meant less restriction and new opportunities to make a better future without the fear of unexpected casualties of war on every corner. Not completely, but at the very least less.

While the village gossiped about the new found peace, Naruto and Anko walked home from guard duty by the gates together.

Their topic of conversation circled around another rumor which hadn't yet reached the civilians ears.

"Can you believe it? Our sensei might be the Fourth Hokage, Naru." Whispered Anko under her breath.

Naruto only shrugged, not entirely sure how to respond to that. It was Orochimaru who had told them the news himself that morning. That he was nominated for the Hokage seat together with one other person. Namikaze Minato.

After a beat of silence Naruto answered just as quietly. "Yes, it's big news." They couldn't be overheard discussing this by any by passers.

"Be excited, Naru," Anko huffed, showing Naruto's shoulder lightly. "Do you not see a trend forming here? The First and Second Hokage were brothers. The second Hokage was the Thirds sensei. Orochimaru-sensei was the Thirds student. Do you get where I'm going with this? Aren't you the one who declared you wanted to become Hokage? Well, if things continue like this it's not such a farfetched dream anymore."

Naruto grinned. That was true, though it was an odd coincidence. But Naruto just hoped it was Minato who got the seat. Naruto couldn't imagine another outcome, even if she'd altered time she hoped she hadn't changed that.

"Let's make a bet out of it." Naruto suggested, stopping by the corner of the street, right in front of their building. "I'm betting Minato will become Hokage."

Anko's frown spoke louder than words, but a small nod revealed she was never the less on board. "Fine. I bet on Orochimaru-sensei becoming Hokage. What does the winner get?"

Naruto looked up at their building, trying to come up with a suitable reward. "The loser has to take two wash duties. Winner gets four weeks without any washing."

They had a simple system at home, mainly because Anko had insisted it was necessary. There had been a few death threats involved too, but Naruto had eventually agreed to it. Every week the lounge, hallway and bathroom had to be washed, and they took turn on who was stuck with the task. This meant four weeks without any washing for the winner. Except for their own room which was their own responsibility.

Anko snorted. "You have yourself a deal, Naru. Be prepared to play nice with the cloth and broom again, since you'll be spending more time with them soon enough."

The next day the rumors of the Sandaime's retirement had reached the rest of village inhabitants too, but team Orochimaru didn't get the opportunity to confirm or quench these rumors.

Despite the recent peace they were far from free of their duty, and their schedules were kept busy with new security measures.

Keep the peace. Keep vigilant. Don't be fooled. Those were the hushed murmurs within in the military force, contradicted the careful optimism of the civilian population.

They were at peace, but it did not mean they were safe. They had forced the opponent to their knees, but cornered wolfs were not to be trusted. Lower your guard and the desperate last resort bite of their caged opponent might turn fatal.

They were sent as part of a platoon towards the fields. A very large one. Naruto had never been sent out with such a number before. There were over two hundred ninjas all equipped for this mission.

Naruto knew some of the people. Team Kushina, team Choza, Rin and Kakashi were present. They were talking with two people Naruto had not gotten to know very well in the past, but knew perfectly well who they were. Shizune and Raidō.

Naruto saw them often around the village, but so far they had very little interaction. Though they knew who Naruto and Shisui were, Anko knew them pretty well and they always greeted each other in passing.

"Alright, captain. What are your orders?" Asked Naruto, giving Kakashi a proper salute while they stood at the edge of a large rocky hill. He was their captain, and Naruto was answering to him for the duration of the mission.

Orochimaru was the commander of the whole platoon, and the platoon had sub divisions. When dealing with such a large number of ninja it became difficult to keep track of everyone at all times. To make sure they were always accounted for they were divided into teams/squads, and the captains of them were the ones reporting to Orochimaru.

Since team Orochimaru and team Minato did not have a sensei to lead them through this mission they were merged together as a squad under Kakashi's responsibility. Orochimaru was the acting commander for everyone on this mission, while Minato was on a different mission and therefore did not participate.

Kakashi rolled his eyes at Naruto's less than discrete mocking. "For now… just pay attention when Orochimaru-sama speaks, okay?" He replied with a trace of humor, and pointed to the front of the crowd where Orochimaru was talking with Shikaku and Kushina before they set out.

Everyone was dispersed and searching for their team, their voices quiet and muffled. Orochimaru's voice carried over the gathering, quieting the remaining voices to a hush.

"We're setting out now. Keep your eyes open. The war might be over, but the threat is not eliminated yet. A strong front is the only way to keep the tension between the countries in check, and though we won we're yet to be at peace." Orochimaru cast a quick glance over the assembled platoon, before nodding once. "Next stop is in six hours by the country border. Everyone is to report to their captain and captain's report to me. Let's go."

The platoon made good speed the first part of the road, and stopped at the border to Fire Country around three in the afternoon for a meal.

Naruto had stayed with her squad for the journey, who travelled at the far back of the platoon. For their meal they made do with bread and water, since Orochimaru was not keen on lighting a fire for so many people.

It was quite a different experience travelling with such a large group. It was confusing, and Naruto was happy she didn't have to make sure at all times that every member was accounted for.

"What are we expected to find?" asked Anko conversationally, frowning at the piece of bread she'd just taken a bite off.

"Scouts." Kakashi answered, just as impressed with their meal as everyone else. Meaning not at all.

Shisui was retying his forehead protector, pushing back his hair so the cloth would keep it out of his face. "We're scouting for scouts?"

With a nod and a point in Shisui's direction Kakashi confirmed it. "Exactly. We're keeping close to the platoon, but we have our own area to scout. If anything is found we're to report back to Orochimaru-sama, if anything goes wrong we send up the signal."

"What's the signal?" Asked Rin, she seemed fine with eating dry bread and was munching on it as if it was a chocolate cookie.

Kakashi lifted up a kunai with an explosion tag fastened to the end.

"Right… That type of signal. Are we not trying to keep the peace? Not start a conflict with Kiri? Again." Pointed Shisui out, tugging at the end of the cloth to make sure the knot was tight enough. Their platoon was heading for Kiri. Making sure they would not take advantage of the peace treaty by attacking unannounced.

"It's our orders." Kakashi sighed and handed out a kunai to each of them with explosion tags attached. "It's a safety measure."

"I feel this is tamping fate." Shisui muttered, but accepted the offered kunai.

"Most likely nothing will happen. We'll be in and out. No problem." Kakashi said, uncharacteristically optimistic for once.

"What happens if we're scouted first though?" Asked Naruto as she received her own kunai, putting her bread in her lap to examine her borrowed weapon.

Kakashi thought about the answer for less than a second. "If you're attacked you attack back, but if possible you try to communicate with them. Orochimaru will speak with the groups individually later and give more specific orders. I doubt all of us will be traveling in such a large group for a mission like this. Soon we'll part, travelling in two divisions before splitting up into squads to cover a large area as efficiently as possible."

As Kakashi had predicted the platoon split up. They were closer to Water Country, and couldn't move around as easily and yet stay undisguised.

Shikaku was appointed the leader of the hundred who moved south, while Orochimaru's division took the northern route. Some of them were meeting up in a couple of weeks, where individual members from both platoons would continue closer to Water Country at a higher risk.

Infiltration… Naruto doubted she'd get picked for that specific mission.

Shikaku's division included all of the younger teams, which Kakashi explained was because they had the safest area to scout. But for once Naruto didn't complain about being coddled because of her age. It meant she could spend most of the day outside scouting with team Kushina.

Hitomi and Naruto would never be best friends, but they had come to an accepting tolerance of each other's presence for the sake of their teammates. They even exchanged pleasantries in passing. Or well, most of the time at least. "My… two days at tracking and scouting and you haven't messed up yet?" Hitomi said with a condescending tilt of her head.

Anko never had much patience for Hitomi's comments, and answered before Naruto could open her mouth. "Why, yes," She said an enthusiasm that didn't reach her steel, cold eyes. "Naruto has different qualities than you do, Hitomi. I mean, I've actually seen her fight. What about you? This mission must be prefect for your skill set. Stay quiet and run in the face of danger? It's right up your stream, isn't it?"

Hitomi blushed, backing away at Anko's hard stare and shifted behind Ensui.

"Case and point." Anko mumbled.

"Hey, that's my teammate. You have no place speaking to her like that." Ensui retorted and folded his arms in front of him. Staring right back at Anko without backing down.

"Please, she's luggage." Anko sneered and shook her head.

The comment wasn't well received, and Ensui bristled. "She's not. Can't you be civil?"

"We can." Naruto answered quickly and smiled to Hitomi. To no avail. The girl scowled and looked pointedly away.

"Hitomi..." Ensui said warningly, catching her behavior.

Hitomi was not happy but reluctantly agreed. "Fine… But she's the one insulting me." She mumbled and gestured towards Anko.

"And now you're telling on me?" Anko replied with a sickly sweet smile.

Naruto was having flashbacks to the orphanage, and Anko's endless intimidation act towards the younger girls. "Give it a rest, Anko. There no need to defend me from Hitomi."

Anko snorted, a genuine smile replacing the last. "That's actually very, very true."

Iruka and Shisui came up to them with Kushina in tow. "We're going to light a fire, I'm starving." Iruka moaned and rubbed his stomach, not noticing the tension. Shisui did though.

"Why don't Anko and Naruto help me find logs for the fire, huh?" He asked with more exuberance than necessary.

Ensui breathed in relief and sent him a thankful glance when Naruto and Anko went to join him.

While everyone met up at some point during the day, large parts of their platoon didn't see much of each other.

Kakashi's squad spent most of their time alone and only returned for dinner and rest, before they set off the next morning at an unearthly early hour.

Though the scouting came without result – which was a good thing – Naruto enjoyed the evenings more. By keeping Hitomi at an arms distance Naruto had quite a good time with everyone else.

Shizune and Raidō often joined them for meals, and Naruto was surprised to see how well Raidō knew and get along with Shisui. Naruto hadn't even known the two had met each other.

Naruto was also discussing at length with Ensui and Kushina about chakra chains. The Nara was eager to know more about the ability, and found the difference in Kushina's and Naruto's chains intriguing.

Rin and Shizune were getting along like a house on fire. Babbling away about medical ninjutsu and Tsunade for hours on end. Shisui spent most of his evening time with Raidō, Genma and Kakashi away from the rest, which made both Anko and Naruto confused.

When asked what they were doing Kakashi had simply answered "training." Which was not really true since they rarely left out of sight, just out of hearing, and Naruto hadn't even seen them go through their Kata once.

It was their fourth day out scouting, and they had not found anything suspicious so far. "No reports have come back with any results, I'm almost daring to believe there's nothing to find." Muttered Kakashi while hanging upside down from a branch.

Naruto craned her head back and grinned widely from the branch below. They were all up in the trees, but Kakashi had climbed to the top to check if there was anything visible above the leaves.

The squad had split up. Naruto, Kakashi and Rin were scouting by the narrow path crossing the area, while Shisui and Anko were further down the forest closer to the coast.

Rin jumped from a nearby branch and landed next to Naruto. "Nothing to report here either. Anywhere we haven't checked yet?"

"I don't believe so. Let's wrap up for the day and head back to our meeting point." Kakashi answered and let himself fall from the branch. Smoothly he turned around in the air and landed softly in a crouch next to Naruto.

"Show off." She muttered while Kakashi straightened up.

He chuckled at her comment, dusting off a few leaves from when he'd crawled through them. "Use all possible opportunities to practice, Naruto. With our constant missions it's hard to find time to training."

Naruto was sceptic, but before she could reply Kakashi jumped to the next branch, Rin following quickly after and leaving Naruto to catch up. Four branches later she'd reached them but was irritated at their sudden haste. They backtracked the way they had come from for twenty minutes before reaching the meeting point Shisui and Anko would arrive at. Naruto's teammates had yet to show up though, so they sat down to wait.

Despite her effort Naruto quickly grew bored. Cleaning her forehead protector just wasn't something she found gratifying for any length of time, and Naruto tied it back in its proper place.

She looked from Rin to Kakashi, noticing how they wore theirs. Rin used it like Naruto, but Kakashi had a small fringe hanging down from his. This had annoyed her many times before, and she wasn't sure why she'd never mentioned it to him already.

"Why do you wear your forehead protector like that, Kakashi?" She asked bluntly. Kakashi looked up, one eye closed while the other black one stared her down.

"What do you mean?"

Naruto leaned forwards, tugging at one end so it covered his eye with the Sharingan. Leaning back she smiled widely. "There! All fixed. Don't you get tired of constantly keeping one eye closed? Doesn't that feel more natural?"

Kakashi's hand rose to the metal plate, adjusting it slightly. Rin was studying the effect of Kakashi's tilted forehead protector with a small grin. "It looks a little funny..." She admitted with a light giggled.

Naruto rolled her eyes and leaned forward again. Kakashi stared wearily at her and smacked away her hand when it came too close to his face.

"Hey! I'm trying to help here. Just push your fringe behind the forehead protector. That way your hair doesn't stick into your remaining eye when you wear it tilted." Naruto objected with some annoyance as she retreated her hand.

Kakashi thought about it for a moment, before doing as instructed. Naruto couldn't keep the grin off her face while Kakashi tried out the hairdo. He looked drastically more like the Kakashi she had first known in the future. "Like this?"

"Perfect!" Naruto replied. "It's much cooler, dattebayo."

Rin nodded in agreement. "It's actually quite good Kakashi-kun, and now you won't have to wear that eye patch I gave you. Not that you have much, but this is practical enough for you, right?"

"Eye patch?" Asked Naruto confused.

"Rin gave me one. Since I'm not an Uchiha, Obito's eye can't be deactivated and I have to keep it closed all the time so not to drain my chakra." Kakashi explained quickly.

"But he finds it uncomfortable. He doesn't like overlapping his forehead protector with the eye patch string. He says it keeps shifting." Rin added.

"This works though… I always wear my forehead protector… How come I haven't thought of this before?" Mumbled Kakashi to himself while still fixing his hair.

"I've been annoyed about your fringe hanging in your eyes for years Kakashi, so I had to speak up now that you'd actually take my fashion advice. Soon I'll have you wear orange too." Naruto replied jokingly, and received a hearty laugh from Rin and a snort from Kakashi.

Kakashi's optimism about the mission strangely enough paid off. None of them ran into trouble, and their report came back clean. No sightings and no suspicious behavior in the area.

They gave their report to Shikaku, who had similar reports piling up next to him. They were asked to go with the platoon to their next destination within their current group.

They were covering large pieces of land, so the platoon used one day to travel, and one day to scout. They continued like this for five days, always on the lookout for something, and never gaining any results.

It looked like Kiri had kept their end of the deal.

So the evenings grew less strained with each day. They were moving out of the dangerous areas, which resulted in the possibility to start camp fires for some warm food in the evening.

"-And then he fell into the water." Kushina explained, hardly containing her glee while she pointed to her student. Iruka had a pink tint to his cheek, and was casting his sensei betrayed looks all through the story.

"Mah Iruka, you might be more of a klutz than even Naruto." Chuckled Shisui behind his hand.

They were eating dinner, even though it was closer to midnight than proper dinner time. They had arrived late and been stuck helping out another team.

"Hey! At least I didn't confuse a deer with an enemy." Naruto countered and stuck out her tongue towards Anko, who growled back.

"What?" Asked Ensui, looking between the two girls.

Naruto grinned widely. "You should have seen her. Getting all excited and ready for battle. She had Shisui come and fetch us from miles away so we could attack together. It was hilarious when we came back only to find Anko trying to scare away a deer." She turned towards Anko with dancing eyes. "Where you trying to cover up the mistake?"

"Oh shut up! I have so much blackmail on you Naru! And you're getting close to dangerous territory! I can always tell them of them of the time you accidentally put a slo-" But she didn't get further, because Naruto threw herself across the distance between where they sat, her hand clamping over her mouth to stop Anko from talking.

Soon they were punching and kicking wildly, a spar starting up while the others laughed at their antics. Shisui sighed and rolled his eyes at his teammates. "I think they mentally de-age three years every time we are away from Orochimaru-sensei. It's only so much I can do to keep those two under control, but they have some serious social handicaps." He grumbled under his breath.

Ensui leaned back on his hands, a small smile on his lips while they watched the two teammates try very hard to fight silently and yet painfully. They were a little away from the camp. They had already learned not to fight around the tents, because waking up grumpy older ninjas was a terrifying experience. And it had happened twice already.

"They're really good friends aren't they?" Kushina said with an adoring smile while she watched the girls try to conflict pain on each other. Peeking between the female members around the camp fire Ensui decided he didn't get girls. They were a mystery to figure out.

Two were beating the shit out of each other – who proclaimed to be best friends none the less. His sensei looked at them the same way his mother looked at his little sister when she clothed her in pink frilly dresses, and Rin was already getting out salves for the upcoming injuries. Hitomi even looked amused at their antics.

No, Ensui didn't get this at all.

Shisui understood better, but just because he knew it was inevitable. He just wondered how long he should wait to split them apart. It was better to wait until both had a few bruises.

"They remind me of when Kakashi and Obito would start fighting." Rin said between sips of water, peaking at Kakashi who was more interested in his soup than the two girls fighting right behind him. "Somewhat at least."

"Should no one stop them?" Asked Raidō worriedly. "They might get seriously hurt."

Shisui sighed and got to his feet. Everyone grinned as he made his way towards his teammates while dragging his feet. With ease he jumped straight into the fight and got a hold of Naruto's neck and Anko's ear, dragging them away from each other with a jerk which had both females release a squeak of pain. "Stop it you two, it's such a bore to have to be peace maker all the time. Can't you act civilized for just a few hours?"

Anko and Naruto stared daggers at him, and Shisui quickly released them, stepping back when their anger turned towards him instead.

"Come over here, alright? I need to fix you two up for tomorrow." Rin called loudly, holding up a small tube which Naruto recognized by sight now. It was type of ointment used to stop swelling.

"Fine." Huffed Anko and walked hurriedly back to the camp fire.

The others continued talking while Rin fixed up Anko and Shizune worked on Naruto. Soon Gai, Genma and Raidō decided to go to sleep, and Shizune and Rin followed after.

Naruto was in a very good spirit, and after the many discussions about chakra chains with Ensui and Kushina she found herself asking something she'd wondered for a few years now, but hadn't been sure how to bring up.

"Is there a limitation to jutsu?" Naruto asked curiously. "We change the environment every day. Create the elements and counteract how a body works, but what are the limitations? Minato can even counter the laws of space."

The thought had often wandered in and out of her mind, and her question drew the rest's attention. Even Kakashi who'd been about to retire for the night stopped and turned back.

Kushina looked unsure how to answer for a long time. "Theoretically there aren't many limitations, only a lack of knowledge and means to use them. Why do you ask?"

"Could… you alter time?" Asked Naruto, scratching her arm while leaning back against a tree.

By the look on people's faces that was a very stupid question to ask, and slowly Kushina shook her head. "… No."

"But you just said there were no limitations." Naruto pointed out.

"To alter time… go forwards or backwards... you either forward or rewind the path of the whole universe. Your chakra would have to reach out to everyone and everything, alter it to such a fundamental degree it would be impossible. No one has that much chakra, not to mention control. Only a God could do such a thing."

"Have you thought about this before Kushina-sensei?" Asked Anko curiously.

"Yes. I wondered before… I did a lot of research on the matter. Space-time ninjutsu in particular together with Minato. The most you can archive is no time, and only to yourself. It's similar to what Minato can do. He goes in and out of time with almost no time difference. There is one, but it's so short no one can physically experience it. He's the closest person to be able to time travel, because for a split second he's not in existence, and technically he travels forwards in time while doing so. Leaving the world, only to appear after time has moved forwards."

"With the Hiraishin." Stated Shisui while nodding to himself.

Naruto ran her fingers through her hair and tugged at the tips of her ponytail absent mindedly. "And… there's absolutely no possibility to move backwards? But what if we pretend for a moment someone did… what would… what would really happen? Are you sure it isn't?"

Kushina shook her head furiously. "No, it isn't. That's just wishful thinking. If one was to do that… it wouldn't really be time travel anyway. It would be… dimension hopping. Because the future will not exist anymore. It's an abstract really." Kushina looked frustrated now, unsure how to explain her point.

"I don't get it. Time travel would be time travel no matter what wouldn't it?" Asked Naruto confused.

"If it's successful, then no." Ensui answered instead, gaining their attention in a flash. He had a way to demand authority even without raising his voice.

"I think I understand what Kushina-sensei mean. If I jumped back twenty years in time, I would end up somewhere time has gone undisturbed up to that point. If I cease to exist at once, than I guess you could say I time travelled, but I just never got to experience being back in time. That way, I would have gone from the future to the past, but not changed anything since I never lived in the past. That would be time travel. Going back but leave time exactly what it was without any traces of yourself." Ensui explained. Naruto was paying close attention while the Nara speculated on his theory, while Kushina nodded along in agreement.

Kakashi was staring at the dwindling fire with a half lidded eye, thinking silently over the dilemma while Anko didn't seem to completely grasp the concept.

Ensui scratched his chin and continued speaking. "Now, if I did survive something like going back in time, and I was able to live after my time travel, it would mean I had created a time paradox, or a different dimension where the world split in two because of my arrival to the past. One world where everything went the same and resulted in time travel at the end, and another world where I started by arriving from the future and living in a world which originally didn't include my existence at that point in time."

"So if someone could exist after going back in time, it would mean it would become a different dimension all together? It's dimension hopping and not time travel?" Asked Naruto startled.

Did this mean the future she had left had continued without her? Naruto had always presumed her arrival to this time period had erased everything before her. She had never thought somewhere in another dimension time continued alongside theirs.

Shisui nodded along with Ensui, but it was the former who answered her. "That could be… Everything needs a beginning Naruto. And if you went back in time and disturbed the future, you would erase your own future actions. But if they're two different dimensions… you would have a continuous existence that didn't interfere with each other. It would mean all decisions made create a new dimension. If you walk right instead of left, a new world appears. And this goes for all possible humans and animals. There would be gazillions of dimensions. It's truly an abstract concept, but since we're just babbling about theories anyway… But really; why on earth are you curious about this, Naruto? There's no such jutsu."

Naruto felt her cheek heat up and she waved her hand. "Just curious, dattebayo."

Feeling bored with the mission and hoping they'd go home soon Naruto followed at the tail of the platoon. Even the interesting camp fire discussion a couple of days before was not enough to keep her boredom in check.

No message for backup had arrived so they were returning to Konoha, hoping to meet the rest of the platoon behind the walls. A few had stayed behind to meet up with Orochimaru's platoon. Shikaku and a few high ranked ninjas had a more risky mission now; which is to infiltrate Kiri.

Shisui and Anko were walking with Kakashi up ahead, while Rin had joined Naruto at the back of the group. The others were spread around, and at the foremost of the troop were Inoichi and Kushina who now more or less led the platoon in some odd co-captain system that didn't really work.

"I can't wait. Tomorrow we'll be home, which means it's not long until I can take a bath in something else but the river." Rin said brightly, stretching her hands over her head to loosen up a kink in her back.

Naruto grinned. "I just hope the warm water tank in our building is fixed. I'm so tired of taking showers only to get frost bites when the warm water suddenly malfunctions."

Rin laughed. "That must be annoying. Don't you have a supervisor in the building? You're renting the apartment aren't you? It's their job to keep the building up to standard."

"We've complained many times, but hopefully he'll listen this time. Anko went to talk to him last time, and ever since he's tried very hard to avoid us. From his behavior I think she made her opinion clear. Hopefully it'll be fixed this time."

"If not I can ask Minato-sensei to have a word with him. Or you can ask Kushina-sensei! She can be really frightening when she wants to." Rin giggled at her own words.

"You know what? I think I will ask-"

Naruto stopped talking and turned slowly around. Rin halted too, noticing Naruto's stillness. "What?" She asked curious.

Naruto wasn't sure why she had stopped. It might have been a sound. Nothing much really, just something that had made her tense up. "I thought I heard something..." She muttered quietly.

Rin looked too. "Should we inform the rest?"

"I don't know… There's nothing out of the ordinary now. I'll get so much crap from Inoichi if it's nothing..." Naruto muttered, and took a step in the opposite direction of where they'd been heading.

She still felt on edge, but Naruto couldn't see anything that wasn't supposed to be there. Trees, grass, moss, bark, clear sky and trampled road. Everything was visually in order.

But the sound wasn't. Naruto watched a flock of bird fly up into the sky. That was what she'd reacted to. The flight of the birds, but they were so far away she really shouldn't have heard it so well.

"Better safe than sorry." Rin replied and turned towards the rest of the group. "Stop, there mi-"

But further she didn't get. Naruto threw herself at Rin, knocking her sideways just as hundreds of shuriken flew out from the surrounding trees at all sides. Two of them hit Naruto's leg as she used her body to shield Rin.

"GAH!" Rin cried as they hit the ground.

Next moment they were surrounded. Naruto stared wide eyed at the masked figures on all sides.

They were ANBU. Or Kiri's version of ANBU. But there were so many. Too many to just be a coincidence.

This was a planned attack.

"We're under attack!" Shouted someone up ahead. It sounded like Iruka, except he was much more panicked than Naruto had ever heard him.

Shisui stopped when Ensui halted. He was looking over his shoulder towards the back of the group. "Naruto and Rin have stopped." Ensui informed them quietly.

Shisui turned around too, but there were too many people blocking their view for him to see clearly. With effort he caught a glimpse of orange.

"I'll go check." Answered Kakashi, already turning around to see what was going on when the sound of Rin's voice carried over the group. "Stop, there mi-"

Her voice cut of abruptly, only to be replaced by utter chaos.

Shisui had ducked on instinct, not sure what he had expected, but his body had moved on its own accord. Kakashi and Anko had done exactly the same, but Hitomi screamed in pain as she was stabbed multiple times right in front of them.

With a thud she crumbled to the ground, Shuriken sticking out of her shoulder and stomach while she gritted her teeth in pain. Twitching as if she was having a seizure.

"We're under attack!" Iruka screamed. He was still standing, but miraculously he hadn't been hit by any Shuriken.

Ensui wasn't as lucky, as he plucked out a single Shuriken from his arm and hissed in pain.

"P-poison." Hitomi gritted out, her shaky hands fidgeting with the pouch tied to her waist. "A-antidote…"

Ensui seemed to understand, and he fell down beside Hitomi and wrestled the pouch open in a second, the many substances in her bag being revealed for all of them.

"Which one?" Asked Ensui panicked, his own hands growing shaky while he worked.

Shisui didn't catch the answer. His attention was drawn towards the rumbling sound of feet running over soil. Figures appeared on all sides, circling them in until no direction had a view without a masked opponent.

"Shit..." Anko mumbled under her breath.

They got up in unison, Anko going through hand signs. "Sen 'ei Jashu!" She shouted, and her right arm erupted into a dozen snakes shooting towards the closest ANBU.

"Katon; Great fireball technique!" Shisui was right behind her, his Sharingan activated as he helped Anko keep the enemy ANBU back. People were attacking on all sides. No sign of order at all. They'd been taken completely off guard.

"Where's Rin and Naruto?!" Shouted Kakashi, his attention towards the back of the troop now running around like mad. Shisui had enough with his opponents though, and ran forwards to meet them head on.

Behind him he heard Ensui answer Kakashi. "No idea! But we have more acute problems at the moment!"

Ensui was carrying Hitomi while Anko covered them. They needed to find a medic ninja as soon as possible.

Hitomi's breathing had grown labored, a slurping sounds rattled from her chest and she looked really bad. Ensui was growing steadily paler, sweat forming on his brow and in general showing all the signs of poisoning.

Anko finally spotted someone who could help. "Shizune!" The girl was standing with Raidō and covered him while he fought a masked Kiri ANBU. She didn't hear her.

Seeing the dangerous terrain ahead she signaled for Ensui to find somewhere to hide, and alone she charged ahead, ducking away from incoming Shuriken and Kunai on her way across to the battle.

Shizune saw her just as Anko was intercepted. Anko gritted her teeth, fear growing inside her as the man's katana came at her before she could react.

Before her head was cut off the man froze, going immobile mid slice. Anko glanced back, finding Ensui on his knee with the Shadow Imitation technique activated. The shaking had grown worse, but he kept the technique up regardless.

Anko didn't waste another moment. Taking up her kunai she cut the Kiri ninja's throat efficiently and met Shizune who was staring wide eyed.

"You have to help! She's going to die Shizune, switch with me! I'll cover Raidō."

Shizune gathered herself after a deep intake of breath. "Sure." She hurried past Anko while Raidō ran forwards. His speed impressive as he zigzagged towards his opponent with his katana clutched ready in his right hand.

Using the recently used bloody kunai she attached an explosion tag to the handle, readying it for the next fucker who dared come close to her.

Kakashi charged up his chidori, furious as he stared down the people in front of him. Flying forwards he heard the air swish around him, knowing Genma was covering him with senbon from behind.

One of the Anbu fell backwards from being hit by Genma's attack, while Kakashi focused at his partner. His hand was through her chest before she had time to look away from the man who'd been fighting with her.

"We need to contact the rest of the platoon." Kakashi said and whirled back towards Genma and Gai.

"I know. How though?" Gai answered, his breath labored.

"Anko. She can send a snake summon to Orochimaru-sama." Kakashi replied as three ANBU circled in on them.

"Where is Anko?" Gai replied before the first of their enemies started attacking. They all paid close attention to the flying Shuriken. Knowing they were poisoned from the way people were slowly draining of energy much quicker than should be possible.

"Over there." Genma gestured wildly to their left, where a group of people were all out attacking one another. Kakashi spotted Kushina in the heat of the battle. Her water jutsu meeting a similar jutsu from one of the Kiri ninja.

"You won't get the opportunity brats." The voice was ominous, and both of them stared as a man the size of Choza stepped up in front of them. He had a blade larger than Kakashi whole body dangling over his shoulder. It wasn't a blade though, it was grey and furry, and the shape was all wrong.

Kakashi knew who it was though. He was an A rank in their bingo book. One of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

Fuguki Suikazan.

This was a foe far beyond Kakashi's level, but there was no way he'd go down without a proper fight.

Genma threw senbon so quickly Kakashi hadn't seen the movement. They were deflected by the sword, scattering around while Genma got out his Katana. Creating a distraction so Kakashi could get close. Kakashi was firing up a chidori again. He had dangerously little chakra left, but he had enough for one more.

And then it was snuffed out. One move of the swordsman's blade and Kakashi could feel his chakra being ripped out and into the odd looking sword.

Without thinking about it Kakashi got his tantō out. If chakra wouldn't work than there was only this left. He knew this would be suicidal. Going up against a man like this with their limited kenjtsu skills. Genma was better at this than him, but even his comrade paled to the likes of Fuguki.

Suddenly Fuguki froze, an odd look on his face. "Get back!" Shouted a voice from behind, and Kakashi and Genma jumped back in unison.

Choza's enormous fist was headed right for Fuguki, Inoichi keeping the swordsman in check with his mind body ninjutsu.

He took the punch head on, the mind technique being released just before the hit so Inoichi himself wouldn't feel the impact Fuguki was currently feeling.

Fuguki flew backwards, but to Kakashi's horror he got back up again, his eyes intent on Inoichi and Choza now, leaving Kakashi and Genma forgotten.

Naruto and Rin were running. There was no other way to keep Rin safe from the heat of attackers. If Naruto didn't find the idea absurd she'd say they were being targeted.

Her vision was blurring up though, and her chakra was going haywire. Her feet stumbled over a root in the forest while she held off a new round of Shuriken throwing.

"You're poisoned, Naruto!" Rin said aghast from behind her.

Naruto already knew that. It was the only explanation for all her symptoms.

When she'd jumped on Rin she had taken a hit for her. Normally that wouldn't have been a problem, but it was when the Shuriken had been poisoned. "I'll be fine. My body can deal with poison better than most." Naruto bit back in frustration.

It wasn't the poison she was most worried about, it was the lack of focus until the poison was cleared out of her system.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted with effort, creating fifteen stumbling clones. At least it would confuse the enemy of who was the real one until they could rejoin the platoon. They had been too far back for them to get up to the group, efficiently split up from them because they'd been trailing behind. Naruto couldn't believe they had made such a stupid error.

"It's her." Said one of their opponents, but who he was referring to was impossible to tell.

Naruto took a hold of Rin's wrist while her clones kept the group of Kiri ANBU at bay.

For now.

"Go with my clone, Rin. I'll keep them back." Naruto said sternly and created five new clones. It was exhausting… Naruto couldn't believe how her body was reacting. Two of the clones successfully used the henge to turn into Rin. But only barely. "Follow one who looks like me, the others will run in opposite directions. A distraction." Naruto muttered quietly. "Get to the platoon, and send back help."

Rin nodded, pure terror making her movement jerky.

"Go."

"Kushina! Are you alright?" Asked Anko frantically, running over as Kushina was getting to her feet with the help of an unknown man.

She had bloody holes in her attire, the pants were rifted in multiple locations, but there were no visible wounds. The man didn't look much better. His hair looked burned off and he had multiple small cuts. "I'm…" Kushina gasped for breath, her hand covering her stomach. "poisoned." She finished in a hiss.

"The Shuriken right? So many are poisoned! I can't find Rin either, she could help you." Anko ducked as an explosion went off close to them, covering Kushina the best she could.

"It's… chakra potent. The more chakra you have the more efficient it is." Kushina said through gritted teeth. Anko's eyes widened, and she spun around, trying to find a hint of orange somewhere in the chaos of people.

"Where's Naruto then?" Asked Anko panicked.

"I saw them. Naruto and Rin had a whole horde of people after them." Iruka muttered panicked, coming out of nowhere, still looking relatively unhurt.

"Where?" Asked Kushina frantic, straightening up while exhaling deeply.

"I… it was a while ago. In the forest." Iruka pointed to their right, "I haven't seen them since."

"Get out of here." Said Kushina in hiss, looking at Iruka. "Get Hitomi, Ensui and your friends and contact Orochimaru-sama. I'll go find Naruto and Rin."

"You can't go in there!" Anko exclaimed aghast.

"I have to." Kushina bit out. "I have to save them."

"We'll help." Anko said at once.

"No! You need to contact Orochimaru-sama. Iruka; you need to protect her so she has the opportunity to use her Snake Summons."

"I'll go with you." The man said and looked at Kushina. The red head nodded in agreement, and then they ran into the forest without a backwards glance.

Anko's attention was pulled away though, when Genma came flying straight into Iruka, knocking him over like a bowling pin.

Rin was growing out of breath. She was deep in the forest now. The sound of battle echoed around her while the clone led her on a detour on their way back to the platoon.

The problem was that everyone had been split up. There were no gathered platoon anymore, but many small groups. "We need to find Kakashi." Rin said in worry when they ducked under a bush. The sound of passing footsteps making their hearts slow down a fraction of a pace.

"They..." The clone said, her expression growing confused. She looked up at Rin. "They're here… for you."

Rin could only stare in shock back at the clone. "What? What do you mean?"

"The boss - the real me - she's still fighting. Giving you time. But the Kiri ANBU is discussing right now. Wondering if they should take the intendant target -you - or go with the optional." The clone said with steadily growing alarm.

"What? Why would they want me?" Asked Rin hysterically. It made no sense at all. She was no one. She was just a field medic of Konoha. Sure, her sensei was the Yellow Flash and her teammate was Sharingan no Kakashi, but she was by far the least interesting individual on their team. Why would the Kirigakure ANBU attack to get a hold of her? There were loads of other dangerous ninjas in this platoon. Inoichi-san, Choza-san and Kushina had much more feared reputation than her. Even little Naruto was more feared.

"I have no idea…" The clone looked around, her eyes narrowed. "It's quiet here though. This is a good hiding place. The battle is moving away and we shook off our pursuers." The clone said quietly. Going from alarmed to calm rapidly.

Rin could see the clone thinking furiously. Looking in the direction of the battle and back to Rin repeatedly. They stayed quiet for a whole minute while Rin tried to get control of herself.

"What's going on now?" Rin asked frantically when she couldn't stand Naruto's abnormal silence anymore.

"They made up their mind..." The clone muttered, a hint of fear in her voice. Rin stared in shock as the clone suddenly grabbed at her stomach. Fighting to stay intact. "There's… a man there, I think he's one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist. This is bad. His blade… I'll dispel soon." The clone gritted out, but her eyes zoned in on Rin. "But they won't get you."

In that moment Rin had a moment of clarity.

Naruto was being captured in her place - for whatever unthinkable reason - and the clone was now about to make sure Rin wouldn't attempt to save her.

Naruto's hand chopped into her neck, and then everything went black.

.

.

.

To be continued...