7 Asking for Kurama’s help

In the same dark forest where Naruto had previously been found with the 1st Hokage's Secret Scroll, Sakura stood atop a tree while trying to maintain a number of weightless 'Flicker Clones' she made using the Body Flicker Technique.

Unlike the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, this technique was essentially just moving really fast to the point it 'seems like' the user was teleporting to their intended destination by igniting the heart of their Chakra momentarily. The application was exactly the opposite of the Power Fist as it wasn't easy to weaponise Body Flickers that easily.

"Three is my limit, huh?" She couldn't help but be a little disappointed since she heard that Sishui of the Body Flicker, a legend of the Uchiha Clan, was able to create a lot more clones like this that could display the same strengths of Shadow Clones, with all of them having no mass. Though further thought lead her to believe that it was thanks to the Sharingan he could create more Flicker Clones than others. The boost in kinetic vision must've helped him switch between clones at such speeds.

Once she was done and released her three Flicker Clones, her body disappeared as a tiny streak of yellow lightning shot towards a tree miles away. It was only after extensively training this particular Jutsu of true teleportation did she realise why Sasuke was so fond of the technique in the Fifth Great Ninja War. It's adaptability was immense!

Despite being a type of Fuinjutsu (Sealing Ninjutsu) that Sasuke had a harder time learning, it was without question that this technique was the best offensive and defensive Space-Time Ninjutsu with its instantaneous teleportation speed. Even Obito's Kamui that could create portals and bend space couldn't compare to the speed in which those using the Flying Thunder God Technique moved.

In her past life, Sakura had only been able to use the first level (which is the basic application of the applying Formula Marks in the midst of battle), the second level (which was an advanced combat technique derived from this Jutsu that could attack from a person's blind spot), and her self-created 'fourth level' (which is what she used to travel back into the past using massive amounts of Chakra).

Though despite her extensive mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique, there was no way she could compare with the Sasuke of the future due to missing his signature technique he created by fusing his Lightning Release with this Jutsu. The third level of this technique was forever unattainable to her in the past was feasible now.

That is, until now, she put her hand on her stomach to apply a special Formula Seal on her body, looked in the direction she wanted to teleport, then used the Lightning Release she learnt not too long ago as well as her Body Flicker Technique to activate it.

Her whole body was transported through space just like the Jutsu's first level. However, the Formula Seal she had left on her body disappeared, making it so she would need to reapply it on her body again if she wanted to use it another time (Consecutive uses one-after-the-other were impossible). A sigh left the girl's lips as she realised she couldn't use this technique in rapid succession in battle just like first level.

'This should be enough. As long as I use that Super Kage level technique Sasuke always used, I'll be able to beat Orochimaru once we meet at the Chunnin Exams. But this isn't enough... I won't be able to save Sarada if I can barely keep up with Sasuke and Naruto after they have achieved their potentials… Especially after Sasuke gains his special Rinne Sharingan." Sakura thought back to the powerlessness she felt in the Fifth Great Ninja War, where unexpected powerhouses who had never shown their faces before came not from space, but from the 'weak' villages Kanoha had looked down on. The last 'Ninja God' had become so famous they had forgotten the predecessors.

Every Hidden Village once had an unrecorded Ninja God on the level of the founder of the Hidden Leaf village. However, none of them were as famous as the last Ninja God thanks to the passage of time taking away the stories of their existence.

It was similar to how the Chinoike Clan of the Ketsuryūgan had become less talked about despite being common knowledge. It wasn't that they weren't deserving of praise, they just weren't people you'd constantly bring up in everyday life.

If Hashirama, the first Hokage, could create a village with his power alone, then there was obviously something more to the other villages than what meets the eye. It was just these powerhouses only appeared once they were certain that the era of ninjas was coming to end. In desperation, a group of warmongers banded together and created a big stir that rivalled that of the Fourth Great Ninja War. Jutsus and Bloodline Limits she hadn't even heard of before popped out in spades, especially the Dōjutsu of hidden clans.

'If I want to surpass my future self, I can't wait three years to create the Strength of a Hundred Seal. What I need is 'that' Seal instead, I might even be able to incorporate the Sasuke's special Formula Seal into it in order to gain speed faster than even the Fourth Hokage!' A look of determination appeared in her eyes as she disappeared from where she stood in an instant.

At the home where Naruto lived, Sakura suddenly appeared where his jacket had been thrown on the floor. She looked around herself to see a messy room that could use some cleaning. A hint of annoyance appeared on her face as she covered up her nose at the stench.

Even though she came here to get something important done, she still worriedly looked to see if Naruto was eating fine these days. The instant ramen he had laying around clued her in on his regular diet, and once she checked his fridge, she even found a carton of out-of-date milk in his refrigerator. She kindly decided to change up her strategy after checking to see if any Anbu were currently having him under surveillance.

Only when she was sure they weren't around did she throw the expired carton of milk in the bin and vanished once again. It would be suspicious if she was to see him without announcing her presence.

*Knock knock knock*

"Huh!? What…?" Naruto was awoken by the banging on the door and rushed to see who was visiting him. He didn't seem unhappy though about the timing of this. After all, it was a rare occurrence for anyone to visit him without inviting them over.

No, he rarely even got that as well.

"Sakura…?" He was shocked when he pushed open the door. His school crush visited in the middle of the night... Making him so surprised that he started to wonder if this was a dream he was experiencing.

"Wait! Give me a second!" Naruto quickly slammed the door on her and used his Shadow Clones to clean up his apartment as fast as he could, then shoved all those bags of rubbish into a draw.

Sakura didn't mind his rudeness since this was just the kind of guy her childhood friend naturally was.

"Hey, Sakura, what brought you here so late?" He then returned with a smile and had the look of someone who was choosing to directly ignore what just happened. The pink-haired girl also didn't want to waste words on unimportant matters as she walked into his room openly. There was something she had on her mind ever since she came back in time, but... it was way worse than she thought...!

"Is this how you live everyday?"

"What do you mean?" The knucklehead asked in confusion, but the pink-haired girl's eyes couldn't help looking around with a frown. Her analytical mind found out exactly how he had been living the whole time they had been training together.

First going to train, then coming back to this lonely apartment to eat food that was probably not helping him when it came to training… This was his lifestyle despite being isolated by everyone in the village. While she was looking around, she couldn't help but feel saddened in her heart. The face Naruto made after she blamed him for Sarada's death appeared in her mind at this moment.

While trying to change the past, she had always been doing her best to do it with a calm state of mind. She couldn't act solely on her emotions like she did as a kid and also had to curb her desires if she wanted the right outcome. It was to the point that she had been willing to let most of the events of the Chunnin Exams play out normally without trying to reveal herself to the ninja world.

Great actions bring fame, and this attention had a lot of downsides if she wanted to protect Sarada in the future. She couldn't reveal her strengths and abilities so early in the game. However, no matter how much she suppressed her emotions, she couldn't become an emotionless machine, as there had always been a sore spot in her steel heart.

"Are you looking for something?" Naruto asked cluelessly as he watched her look around, only to see that her eyes were leaking tears. This sudden situation made him panic to the point he didn't know what to do. What SHOULD he do...?!

Naruto had always been dense. This is not mentioning the fact that the current Sakura was different from her past self. How could he understand why his 'recently-made' friend came to visit him so late, only to cry at seeing his room?

'Was my room really that bad?' He couldn't understand how a messy room could drive a young girl to tears. Maybe he should fix his attitude and clean-up more? It was at this moment that the shocking change happened as Naruto ACTUALLY WANTED TO CLEAN MORE!!! It must have been a sign of the coming apocalypse of the ninja world...

That's right! Naruto Uzumaki, the knucklehead Ninja everyone knew of, actually wanted to reform his lazy and defiant ways! This change in the timeline was so big that even Hinata would find the future version of him of be a lot more appealing than his original self. Even the time-related Ōtsutsuki Clan members would feel a ripple in spacetime on the level of a massive tsunami!

Though that had more to do with her than him...

Anyway, back to the main point: Sakura wasn't able to erase future Naruto's expression out of her head since coming here, and felt extremely regretful at this moment. Even the look Sasuke gave her appeared in her head as she realised that he was probably going through the same thing. This made her come to a reckless and thoughtless decision:

"I've decided, I'm living here from now on."

"What?!!!" These words caused Naruto's jaw to drop to the ground. He felt like a talisman bomb had blew up in his brain. Even Sakura was surprised by her own words as she pretended she WASN'T thinking of taking her words back.

"Of course, we'll get Sasuke to live here as well since he's probably lonely living by himself." It was only now did it occur to her that she could lessen the loneliness the two felt at a young age if she put them together. A scheming glint arose in her eyes.

"What about your parents?"

"I have a Shadow Clone pretending to be me over there anyway. As long as I don't release the technique myself, both of them won't suspect that the person living there is a Shadow Clone." She then realised that everything was happening too fast for Naruto to register properly.

"Actually, I came here for a favour. It has to do with the Tailed Beast camping out within you." She decided to get to the main reason why she came here to change the subject before he could refuse. Naruto's eyes darkened as the current conversation was too important if it regarded the old fox monster that had lived within his body.

"Go ahead and ask!" He replied confidently with expression that was as somber as it could be.

"..." The young kunoichi didn't tell him what she wanted immediately after remembering that the Naruto of the past probably hated his Tailed Beast right now. She knew there had to be some way to smoothen out their relationship earlier in order for him to reach his true potential. There was definitely a way to make him even stronger than Killer Bee.

"But first, how do you see him?" She asked hesitantly as this was a rather sensitive topic.

"As a giant grumpy fox." He showed no outward fear when talking about the Nine Tails, but she knew a normal child who found out he is a Jinchuriki wouldn't be able to avoid the pressure that came from being a living tool used to seal a great disaster. It was like walking around while not knowing when the Nine-Tails would affect him.

This opinion he gave was just something formed before he even met Kurama… An accurate one indeed.

"I need to meet him for something. Do you mind if I use a Genjutsu on you to see him?"

"Are you sure about doing this?" Even someone who was usually careless like Naruto didn't think it was a good idea to meet the 'grumpy fox', but he wasn't able to go against her pace at all.

The stubbornness in her eyes made him give in eventually, as it didn't seem like he could stop her.

"Fine, but be careful when you do it. How are-" She didn't give him time to think and put her hand on his forehead. The world around her instantly darkened as the frightening visage and aura of the Nine Tails started to appear before her.

Even though the Nine-Tailed Fox couldn't completely form in her Genjutsu, the aura of great hatred formed from being chased for hundreds of years by humanity still caused her to fear it.

There was a reason the anger of the Nine Tailed Fox even contaminated the beast's chakra to the point it couldn't be controlled by those who stole it from his body, a trait which was unlike the other Tailed Beasts regardless of their number of tails.

"Why does a mere child like you seek me out? I don't smell the blood of a Senju nor Uchiha in you…" An old yet strangely threatening voice spoke from the terrifying visage of the Nine Tailed Fox that had been trapped within Naruto for years.

"I've come to bargain."

"You have nothing that can interest me. Leave!" A roar almost broke the strong Genjutsu she had placed.

"I can give you the method to be free from this seal."

"Lies!" He didn't believe her one bit.

Instead of speaking any further, she stretched her hand out and put faith in the research she had done in the future. There wasn't anyone who knew the human body and the nature of chakra better than her, as she was only second to Orochimaru.

"What I know is that you are a being formed from Chakra, and the only reason you can be sealed this way is because your body of flesh isn't your actual form, but the vessel your Chakra naturally makes to contain its immense strength. Trust me, I can help you." She endured the feeling of fear in her heart and walked towards him while sweating heavily.

This in-depth knowledge about his true nature caused the Tailed Beast to think twice. He didn't believe a ninja of the Hidden Leaf would try to release him for no reason. It was just that, as long as he wasn't controlled again, he was willing to pay any price to leave the seal. Even if it meant putting faith in a mere child without any Clan backing her.

In fact, that was actually the best part...!

"You're knowledgable… Fine, I'll let you make an attempt to prove yourself. What are you planning to ask in exchange?" There was no way a ninja of the Hidden Leaf would release him with good intent.

Though he wasn't wrong, she proved he wasn't really spot on with her actions after reaching out.

"I'll give you my knowledge first." The Chakra she had sent to her hand was covered in barely discernible sparks of bright yellow lightning as she spoke. This action of hers was a bet, one she had not planned to happen before going back in time.

[Flying Thunder God- Level 4: Time Distortion!]

The Tailed Beasts were different existences from human beings that had limited Chakra Reserves. All she needed to do was to use the hand she placed on Naruto's head to interact with Kurama's chakra in order to use a technique that would 'ignite it' with the same Jutsu she used in the original timeline. It was a gamble using her life as a bet!

As a result of her gamble, Kurama felt his mind bursting as memories of his future self started arising in his head. The Fourth Great Ninja War, Madara, the Akatsuki, and most importantly… Naruto's promise to extinguish the hatred he bore… All these scenes appeared before his eyes as actual life experience, he could tell what he was going through wasn't a Genjutsu as the emotions he recalled were too real to deny.

After taking everything in, he spoke again, but this time his tone was a lot less ferocious than it was before and somewhat puzzled.

"Tell me everything about why we're here…"