Preparations before heading out....

"All Right then!"

"I'll take my leave!" Naruto said as he got up.

"What do you plan to do for the next One and a half days?" Sasuke asked.

"Hmmm…."

"For starters, I will visit Shikamaru and inform him about the current situation."

"The Hokage has partly figured out my identity, so I told them I shall tell the truth in about two and a half years," Naruto said.

"Looks like you'll have things going easy now that the Hokage knows about it," Sasuke said.

"You're right Sasuke."

"However, I am more concerned about one other thing," Naruto said as he thought back to Shikamaru's words.

…. FB

"I want you to be careful of Sasuke…"

Naruto turned back in shock.

"I just wanted to let you know, because he already left the village back in your time," Shikamaru said, not mentioning how Sasuke had reacted Earlier.

"I see." Naruto nodded as he finally left the hospital.

Shikamaru stared at the place Naruto was standing.

…. FB

"What is it?" Sasuke asked.

"I have been honest about my past and about how we had worked together to bring peace to that world…"

"…" Sasuke stared at Naruto.

"I want you to understand that telling the truth to you was not easy."

"I feared the fact that you would go in search of power like you had done before to kill Itachi…" Naruto said.

"Naruto!"

"I'll be honest. I want to know the truth about Itachi from you."

"I want to know what made him do this."

"But I realized that I am not powerful enough to defeat you right now, which drives me to search for power."

"Other than this… I also feel a strong urge to kill you" Sasuke said with a crazed look across his face.

Naruto stared at Sasuke, reminding him of the old Sasuke he dreaded.

"But…" Sasuke's facial expression reverted to its usual.

"I decided against it; It feels like I am being forced to think of his words back from that day again and again."

"…" Naruto stared at Sasuke who was finally opening up to him.

"The reason I am made to consider the choice of killing you is mostly due to his words from that day. In which he stated that I am to kill my closest friend."

"If I do so, I will get the same eyes as he has, and one day I will be able to stand against him as an equal."

"But I promised myself that I would not follow his way to obtain this power," Sasuke said causing Naruto to feel hope rise for Sasuke from the bottom of his heart once again.

"I will become powerful through fair means and defeat you." Sasuke declared.

Naruto smiled as he got up.

"Sasuke. In this Chuunin exam, I will see your improvements. Even if you are defeated by me, you must remember that you fought against a Kage, level ninja!" Naruto said.

"Mm." Sasuke nodded.

….

Naruto walked to the front yard while being followed by Sasuke.

"After the battle at the sand village, there is one more place I'll have you tag along with me…" Naruto said.

"What is it about?" Sasuke asked.

"It is related to the Fourth Ninja world war…"

"I just want to check if it still exists…" Naruto said as he walked towards the entrance gate.

"Sasuke!"

"Report to the Hokage's office by 4 pm two days from now."

"I'll be waiting for you along with Kakashi sensei," Naruto said as he left Sasuke alone.

....

Somewhere along the borders of the wind nation….

In a forest, near a particular tree, there was a was a tunnel entrance to an underground settlement.

Hah!

Hah!

Hah!

Kabuto panted as he stared at the second Hokage's body.

"Kabuto, I made no mistake in picking you up, that's for sure." Orochimaru smiled at Kabuto.

"No, no!"

"The credit all goes to you Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto praised Orochimaru.

"The first's cells and repeated trial over the past days…"

"Truly, hard work has paid off," Orochimaru said as he stared at the kunais which had talismans attached to them.

"I suppose there is no use for these Talisman's then…."

"The Second's jutsu has been perfected by you Orochimaru-sama."

"I am sure he's happy to have a very dedicated disciple like you!" Kabuto said as he stared at Orochimaru.

"This is no longer the second's jutsu."

"His jutsu could only make the dead ones retain about 20-30% of their powers from their prime."

"But this jutsu, not only does it retain 90% power from prime but also Unlimited Chakra!"

"Best of all, one doesn't need to use talismans to keep emotions in check!"

Orochimaru said as he approached Minato's reanimation and removed the kunai with talisman from the back of the body.

He then re-summoned Minato from the dead with the improved Reincarnation jutsu.

The matters in the surrounding area started to gather around the reincarnation body, forming a somewhat bandaged version of the corpse compared to the complete version from before.

Orochimaru was satisfied with the result.

"Now, the only problem that remains is summoning the First." Orochimaru thought as he looked towards the First Hokage's reincarnation body.

"Naruto! Sarutobi-sensei! Your days of ninja will be over within a week." Orochimaru grinned.

…..

…..

A few kilometers away from their Hideout.

Two figure in black robes and red clouds sat by a restaurant.

"Hey, aren't you going to eat this?" Deidara asked as he chewed on dumplings.

"Enjoy while you can…"

"Once Orochimaru shows up, you must be alert, not to let that man get away…" Sasori warned.

"Hmph!"

"Don't worry Sasori, my man."

"I made sure to bring my specialty," Sasori said as he pointed to the two bags by the side of his hips, that contained a lot of clay.

"Deidara, we are not going to wait for the next two days without information."

"We are going to the Village entrance after you are done eating."

"I will turn the entire border team into my puppets," Sasori said.

"They will be an appetizer for the Kazekage's peerage, while my special work of art will be their main course."

"You call puppets work of art?"

"Hmph!"

"I do respect you as a fellow craftsman, my man."

"But Art is a fleeting moment of beauty that vanishes gloriously."

"Just like my explosions," Deidara explained.

"No!"

"Art is something that beautifully remains…"

"extensively into the distant future."

"Eternal Beauty is art!" Sasori argued.

...

...

(Whoosh!)

Naruto jumped past the buildings, heading towards the Nara district.

….

(knock!)

(knock!)

(knock!)

Shikamaru's mom opened the door.

"Yoshino-san!"

"Naruto-kun!" Shikamaru's mom recognized Naruto.

"Are you here for Shikamaru?" She asked.

"Mm." Naruto nodded.

"Follow me!" She said as she led Naruto to the backyard.

Shikamaru was busy grooming the deers that his clan took care off.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto waved at him.

….

Naruto and Shikamaru walked to a secluded spot after Shikamaru had finished his work…

"Shikamaru!"

"I have handled the plan to save the Kazekage."

"The Third is helping me out, by sending Sasuke and Kakashi to help me on the mission," Naruto explained.

"Sasuke?"

"Won't it be too much for him to face those kinds of guys right now?" Shikamaru asked.

"No!"

"Sasuke and Kakashi will be handling the side characters who might interfere."

"While I will deal with Orochimaru," Naruto said.

"So how did you convince the third?" Shikamaru asked.

"He is onto my identity."

"But I plan to tell them about that later since I don't want them to worry about the fourth ninja war right now," Naruto explained.

"I see…." Shikamaru commented.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto called out as he reached into his pocket.

"Take this." He said as he handed over a Kunai with the Flying Thunder God Seal.

"This is….?"

"Shikamaru, I will not be able to make it back to the Chuunin Exam in time…."

"So I want you to keep this with you," Naruto said as he whispered in Shikamaru's ears about his plan.

…..

"Are you sure?" Shikamaru asked.

"Mm…" Naruto nodded.

...

...

The evening of the Second day arrived quickly…

Naruto packed his bag with food supplies.

He took off his weights and kept them at the bottom of his cupboard.

"All right!" ("Everything is ready!") Naruto said as he locked his door.

…..

(Whoosh!) Naruto landed on the terrace of the Hokage building.

"Looks like the three of you are ready!" Hiruzen said as he stared at Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi in front of him.