Chapter 41: The Long Road Ahead

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"Hmm…."- Bijuu

Chapter 41:

The Long Road Ahead

Dodai stumbled back in shock when he saw two of his fellow Kumo ninja fall to the ground in front of the entrance of the tent, unconscious. But what shocked him even more was who had just done it.

Naruto stared at the man calmly in his Sage Mode as the two clones behind him dispelled. Sasuke stood next to him with his normal Sharingan activated, one hand on his hips.

"It's nice to see you again, bendy guy," Naruto began with a smile. Even after all this time, he hadn't forgotten the man that had fought side by side with him in the Fourth Shinobi War. Even if they were now technically enemies, Naruto could tell that he wasn't a bad guy. He was just a very dedicated shinobi, something the blond could respect.

As for Dodai, sweat trickled down his cheek as he looked at Naruto. He hadn't forgotten the blond either. But how could he? The boy had stop their forces in the last war. And just last night he had crushed an entire combined force of Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri. The man knew that he didn't stand a chance against him. But Dodai didn't hesitate as he got into a defensive stance.

"What are you doing here? What do you want?"

"We're only here to talk," Naruto answered truthfully, looking at the other person resting on the bed behind Dodai. "That is, if you've calmed down, Raikage."

The Sandaime Raikage t'ched as he tried to stand up. But he hadn't recovered yet from the damage that his body had sustained due to the Bijudama last night.

"You have guts, boy," the Raikage began, "to think that you would sneak into my camp in the middle of the day."

"Don't be dramatic," Naruto said with a smile. "It's only dawn."

Dodai didn't know how the blond boy could possibly think that that was any better.

After things had calmed down, the three separate forces that had composed the army had gone their separate ways. Or the survivors had anyway. After seeing their Raikage down, the Kumo force hadn't known what to do until Dodai took over, instructing his fellow shinobi to recover their leader before heading back to the Land of Lightning as quickly as possible where they had set up camp near the border. It wasn't all too safe since the Konoha army had still been close to them at the time. But they had still needed to give their Raikage some medical attention.

And that was what brought them to the present, another confrontation suddenly looming. Honestly speaking, Dodai didn't like their chances if things did end up going into a fight. They would most surely be massacred.

But Naruto smiled as he said, "Well. This is the third time that I've whooped your ass. But you still end up getting back up. You're one tough bastard, that's for sure."

"Patronizing me won't get you anywhere, boy," the Raikage said in return. "So I suggest you kill me already and be done with it."

Naruto raised an eyebrow in amusement at that. "Kill you? Why would I kill you?"

Now, the Raikage was confused. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

Naruto chuckled as he shrugged. "True enough, you did bring a lot of pain to a lot of people I care about. But you yourself were just a puppet in the end. Not only that, but I believe that I can reason with you a lot better than I could have with Danzo."

Dodai spoke up here, "Danzo? How do you know of him?" His eyes then widened. "Did you-"

"Yeah, I killed him," Naruto answered truthfully. "At this point, all his operations and Root are done with. I'm sure that the Hokage will end up taking over his resources, so you don't have to worry about him anymore."

"I've never once feared that man," the Raikage stated with gritted teeth, wishing that he could move right now. "Although you did take out one threat to my village." But the Raikage already knew that these brats were going to be more headaches than Danzo ever was.

Naruto closed his eyes as he smiled at that. "At the end of the day, you and Danzo are alike in that regard. You both think that your actions, no matter how despicable, are for the welfare of your village. The truth couldn't possibly be any different, though. In trying to 'protect' your homes, both of you have spread even more pain into the shinobi world, thus causing the never ending cycle of hatred to continue. At this rate, things will never change."

"You can't expect things to go your way," the Raikage replied. "There wouldn't be any need for any of this if the world was different. But it isn't. In such harsh times, power, passion, strength. That's what is needed. It's what defines a shinobi. It's destroy or be destroyed. I'm not going to allow my people to go through suffering because I decided to be weak."

Naruto shook his head at that. "Admitting that you're wrong doesn't make you weak, Raikage. It means that you recognize in yourself the limitations that you have while moving past them. That's what real strength is. Kumo, Iwa, Kiri, Suna, and Konoha. All five villages have tried to take on matters into their own hands, not trying to work with one another. That's what has led to this current present. It's not hard to predict what will come because of this. More wars, more destruction, and more pain. Nothing more. That is no future that should be left behind to the future generations. Don't you agree?"

Under normal circumstances, the Raikage wouldn't hear a word that a kid had to say. After all, it was only a brat. At that age, one didn't have a true outlook of the world. One was naive, nothing more. But the boy in front of him had proven him wrong so far on that account. What was even more astonishing was the fact that he possessed unimaginable power. The Raikage couldn't deny it any longer. The boy was truly powerful. It was something that he deeply respected. It was why he was even bothering to listen to what he had to say. And it was because of this that he was curious.

"So? If you know all this, if you believe what you say to be true, what exactly are you proposing that we should do? That I should do?"

Dodai turned to look at his leader in shock. This was the first time that Dodai had seen the man take advice from anyone other than himself. But even then, it wasn't something easy. And yet, here he was. Watching this pair of boys turn logic upside down. Then again, they've been doing that from the beginning.

Naruto smiled. "We plan on uniting all villages under one someday," he stated, dropping the biggest shocker on both men. "You might think that's crazy, and it may very well be. But that's the whole reason we are here today. That is our goal. And for that, we would like your help."

The Raikage scoffed. "If you actually believe that I will-"

"We don't think that you will believe us," Sasuke said, speaking for the first time and bringing the Raikage's attention to him. "And yet, here we are. Showing our faces to you and sharing our plans. You should already know what that means, Raikage."

And the Raikage did know what it meant. But that didn't mean that he was going to take any of this seriously.

It was something that Naruto picked up on as he said, "You can choose not to believe us right now. It's understandable really. Two random boys just show up of nowhere and start proclaiming nonsense to you. But you already know what we're capable of. And we have the motivation to match our power. We are not joking. We will make it a reality. We only ask that you try to help us towards that goal in the coming future for the betterment of your village and shinobi kind everywhere. This system that has caused too much suffering will be rid of. And we will be the ones to do it."

"We shall see to that," Sasuke finished.

And it was with that that the two boys turned and walked out of the tent, content with having said everything that they wanted to get across. Now, it was up to the Raikage whether or not he would put his trust in them.

Turning to look at his leader, Dodai still couldn't keep the shock out of his face. "Raikage-sama….."

The Raikage h'mphed for one final time before he closed his eyes. "Let it be, Dodai. I'm going to get some rest for now."

Nodding, the man decided to let his leader be for a few hours so that he could get some rest.

But the Raikage stayed awake the whole time, his mind plagued with the things that he had been told.

What would he do?

"You two never cease to amaze me," Hagoromo said with a chuckle as he floated before Naruto and Sasuke inside the former's mind. Next to him stood his brother, Hamura. Miyuki was standing a bit behind Naruto, her eyes closed but with a small satisfied smile plastered on her face. And around them were the nine bijuu themselves, observing the talk happening in front of them with their full attention.

"We can't really waste time," Naruto replied while scratching his cheek. "Besides, I feel like the Raikage will come around eventually. Even if he's a stubborn asshole."

Hamura chuckled. "You seem to be over yesterday's events."

Naruto sighed, a sad smile tugging his lips. "It's the only thing that I can do now. While I'm going to miss Aika-chan and Haru, I know that they wouldn't want me to dwell on them forever. I have to keep moving forward. For our dream."

Sasuke smirked next to him, not having been expecting anything else from the blond. He was a stubborn idiot, after all.

Hagoromo smiled. "I see. In that case, there are things that we need to discuss with you before we depart."

Both Naruto and Sasuke looked at him in confusion at that. "Depart?" repeated the blond.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked.

"Our job is done," Hamura answered. "We have given you two everything that we can. From here on out, it's up to you two."

"Naruto and Sasuke," Hagoromo continued. "What happens from here on out, with all of shinobi kind, is up to the two of you. You two will decide how this adventure continues and ends."

Naruto and Sasuke looked at one another, not exactly sure how to respond to that. They had both grown used to having Hagoromo and Hamura around. And while they had both gotten frustrated with both men in the past, they had never exactly expected this to be how things ended among them. It was weird really.

"Sasuke, raise up your left hand. Naruto, raise your right one."

Both boys did as Hagoromo said, Sasuke already knowing what he was going to say.

"I have shared my power with you both equally," Hagoromo explained. "You both are halves of the same entity."

But Naruto had stopped paying attention to the man when he saw something that looked like a tattoo on Sasuke's hand. "Hey, Sasuke. I've been wondering ever since we got to the hot springs, but when did you get a tattoo?"

And with that, the entire serious atmosphere surrounding them vanished into thin air.

Sasuke's eye twitched. "What?"

Shrugging, Naruto pointed to the shape in the Uchiha's left hand which closely resembled the crescent shape of the moon. "That right there. I mean, it's kind of cool. But I never took you as the kind of guy to get a tattoo."

Sasuke's eye twitched harder. "Are you telling me that you haven't seen yours?"

"Oi, I don't have a tattoo!" Naruto exclaimed with a huff. "All I have is the seal in my stomach, but that isn't a tattoo."

Sasuke's eye twitched even harder. "Look. At. Your. Right. Hand." He said every word slowly through clenched teeth.

Shrugging, Naruto did just that. Taking off his orange fingerless glove, Naruto was shocked the next moment, his eyes widened to saucers when he saw a circular shape in his hand. "What the-since when has this been here!?"

The Uchiha face palmed.

The bijuu looked among one another in amusement, already knowing that this was just Naruto being Naruto. The same could be said for Miyuki as she struggled to fight back her laughter.

Hamura sighed as he shook his head. "You need to be more observant, Naruto."

Hagoromo chuckled again as he said, "That's a testament that you have my powers now, Naruto. Just like Sasuke does too."

The blond hummed at that, inspecting his own so-called tattoo more closely, "Well, it looks cool all right."

Both Hagoromo and Hamura shared a look between one another. Through that mark, the boy had been given incredible power. And all he had to say was that "it looked cool." But it at least made them remember that the blond wasn't the materialistic type. Even if he didn't have half of Hagoromo's power, he would simply find another way to get stronger. Which he had. While Sasuke had the past four years to train with his Rinnegan, Naruto had not had the same courtesy with his newly found powers. He had instead developed his own new jutsu as well as worked alongside the bijuu individually. It was a funny thing really. And admirable.

"Yes, putting that aside," Hagoromo began as he coughed into his hand, "there is something else that we wish to share with you."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, putting Naruto's lack of attention aside. "And that is?"

"First of all, you're no longer the same," Hamura said, beginning his explanation as he pointed at their marks. "When you gained those permanently, your whole foundation and existence changed. You are no longer 'Naruto' or 'Sasuke.' But someone else entirely."

Naruto scratched the back of his head in confusion. "What does that even mean?"

"It means that we are no longer tied to our time," Sasuke answered as his eyes shined in realization. "That's why I haven't disappeared even though my parents are no longer due to be together." But he had just assumed that that was the case because they would still be together in the future somehow. That hypothesis seemed less likely now. "That's what you meant by us being 'exceptions,' right?"

Hagoromo chuckled. "You really do catch on fast, Sasuke. But you are correct. Per say, your parents were to die right now, it would not affect you. You will still be rooted in this time. You are your own person now, not bound by any of those laws."

'I never thought of that before,' Naruto said to himself in slight shock. It was an important detail, after all. But then again, he wasn't a thinker. That was for sure. But it was nice to know that that didn't affect him or Sasuke. That wasn't to say that he wouldn't protect his mother. Because he would. No matter what.

"Anything else?" Sasuke asked, seeing as though Naruto was lost in thought.

Hagoromo hesitated for a moment here, already knowing how delicate this final topic was. "Have you two never felt a…..presence inside you? One different from your own?"

Naruto rubbed his chin as he nodded his head, coming out of his earlier thoughts. "Of course, of course. I've had the oversized furball sealed inside me this whole time. And now I have the others too."

Kurama swiftly squashed Naruto with one of his tails. "Keep talking like that, brat, and I'll take your body this time for sure!"

The others merely laughed, already having grown used to this.

Naruto pulled himself free from under Kurama's tail, giving the fox a smirk. "Awwwe, don't be like that. We both know you would miss me too much."

"He does have you there, Kurama," Gyuki said with a grin.

Kurama growled, not exactly enjoying being on the receiving end of all of this teasing.

Hagoromo smiled. It had been a long time since he had seen the bijuu all enjoying themselves like this all right. It was nostalgic. "Yes, Naruto. There is that. But I was referring to something else."

Sasuke was silent as he brought one of his hands up to his chest.

Taking notice of this, Hamura said, "You already know about this, Sasuke."

Sasuke didn't respond, not knowing what to say. He simply glanced at Naruto.

Naruto sighed as he scratched the back of his head. Looking at Hagoromo, he asked, "So? It seems like I'm the only one out of the loop here."

While he and Sasuke had tried to catch up as much as they could in the past day, they hadn't exactly gone through everything. Especially when they had hit the hot springs. They were just relaxing right now. A mini vacation of sorts.

Miyuki, who had been silent this whole time, only looked at Naruto's back. It was time for him to know the truth, it seemed.

"I had two sons, Naruto," Hagoromo said, beginning his explanation. "One gave rise to the Uchiha. The other to the Senju. But I'm sure you've already learned of this through Obito."

Naruto nodded, remembering his talk with Obito, then Tobi, at the Land of Iron during the Kage Summit. He had to take in a lot of new information that night, mainly about Itachi's sacrifice for Konoha. But that was reflection for another day perhaps. Now, he needed to pay attention here.

"What Obito wasn't aware of is how my two sons managed to spread their chakra into their descendants, making it so that they 'live' again and again. Many of their descendants have carried their chakra throughout the ages. I have come to dubbed them as reincarnates. The last generation of reincarnates were Hashirama and Madara, Hashirama being Asura the youngest while Madara being Indra the oldest. Sasuke will be able to give you a few more details later if you wish. But for now, you should know the most essential part."

Naruto was scratching his cheek while hearing all of this. "Asura, eh? That's what Nori keeps calling me all the time. But why….."

The blond trailed off when his mind began to click together everything that he had just learned. "You can't mean-"

"That's correct," Hagoromo said as he pointed at both him and Sasuke. "You two are the newest generation of incarnates. Naruto, you are Asura. And Sasuke is Indra. Through my Rinnegan, I've been able to see their chakra course through you this whole time. It's undeniable."

The bijuu were quiet, not quite sure how to take this. Kurama looked down at Naruto, feeling some nostalgia hitting him now. He could see what the Old Man meant. He had met both Asura and Indra in the past, the latter being one he wished he never had. But Asura had been different. Now that he thought of it, the similarities between the two were outstanding it wasn't even funny.

Naruto for his part crossed his arms in front of him, a contemplating look on his face.

"Don't overthink it, idiot," Sasuke said next to him with a shake of his head. "It doesn't matter either way, does it? No matter what they say, we are not Asura or Indra. Nor are we going to end up like them. We have our road to travel, our own story. And I'm going to live it out as Uchiha Sasuke. It's that simple."

Naruto couldn't help but stare at Sasuke. "You know, teme, if you had been like this from the beginning, you would have been even more popular with girls during our time." And that was saying something.

Sasuke scowled. "Shut it." He really didn't want to think about his fangirls. Ever.

Naruto smirked before he placed his arms behind his head. Looking at the amused pair of Hagoromo and Hamura, he said, "Well, I have to agree with Sasuke on this one. This doesn't change anything. I'm not Asura. I'm Naruto. There's nothing more to it than that."

"Yes, we already knew you would think that," Hamura said. "But there's a bit more to it than that."

Hagoromo looked at Naruto while Hamura looked at Sasuke.

"We are naming you each our successors," Hagoromo stated. "Again, what happens from here on out will be up to the two of you."

Now Naruto understood why Miyuki had first referred to him as "Hagoromo-sama" when they had first met. But still. This was shocking news.

"You will have many enemies to face," Hagoromo continued, "one of them being Nori. He will not give up until he has you both in despair. As far as he's concerned, the shinobi world is not redeemable. But I see in you two a hope for the future, one that didn't exist in my time. And I place my faith on it."

"As do I," Hamura added with a smile. "I believe that you two will be able to do what we and our mother could not."

Naruto and Sasuke both nodded. This added two more people that had placed their hopes in them. They wouldn't let them down.

Naruto's hands clenched into fists at the thought of Nori. Especially since he had not been able to recover Aika's body. He had sent out a clone in search of it, but it had reported that it was already gone by the time it got there.

"Super gramps, what is Nori planning?"

Hagoromo shook his head. "I do not know. While I have been able to unlock the power of traveling through dimensions like Nori and Miyuki through my Rinnegan, he was born with it. It's second nature to him. I can't even penetrate into his dimension. It was only through sheer luck that I was able to get Miyuki in there when we combined our powers in this last incident. All I can say is that, the next time you meet him, consider him your enemy. He will no doubt have more schemes under his sleeves."

"But we trust that you won't lose your way," Hamura said, adding his two cents. "You have already proven yourselves to the heavens. That's more than enough."

Both Naruto's and Sasuke's eyes widened at that as Hagoromo and Hamura began to disappear.

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked.

Hagoromo chuckled. "You will see once you join us."

"But don't make it too soon," Hamura said with a smile. "You still have many things to do."

And with that, the two brothers vanished. But they had left their wills to Naruto and Sasuke. They entrusted the future to them. And they were confident in their choice.

There wasn't anything else that they could do. It was all up to Naruto and Sasuke now.

It was their story now.

Kushina's eyes snapped open in an instant. Seeing nothing but white, the young girl tried to get up, only to have a hand land on her chest, pushing her back down.

"Oh, no you don't, young lady. You still need your rest."

Kushina relaxed when she heard her mother's familiar tone. And turning her head, her guess was proven correct when she saw her mother's smiling face.

"Kaa-chan…..what's going on? Where are we?"

Kazumi turned a bit somber at this. "We're in Konoha. At the hospital to be exact. You passed out a couple of days ago. You've been unconscious since then."

Kushina's eyes widened at hearing this. "Then….the village, everyone…..it wasn't a dream?"

Kazumi shook her head. "No. Unfortunately, it wasn't. But thankfully, some of us still managed to make it out of that nightmare alive."

Kushina closed her eyes at that. She didn't know how to take this in. Uzu, her beautiful home, had been destroyed. It just didn't seem real. All she knew was of her village. She had never gone out into the real world. But it wouldn't have mattered. She had been in the middle of being forced to leave her home anyway.

'At least Kaa-chan is with me now,' she tried to reason with herself in an effort to quell the pain and sadness raging in her heart. But it didn't do anything in the end. Uzu was gone. A lot of her family had also perished. There wasn't anything she could do to get around that.

But then her eyes opened again as she looked at her mother with wide eyes. "What about tou-san? And Kaito? And Naruto!? Are they-"

"It's okay," Kazumi cut in with another smile."They're all safe too. Although your brother was given bed rest here too until he fully recovers. He's not happy about being stuck in bed, that's for sure."

That did bring a small smile to her face. She wasn't alone at least. She didn't want to think about what would have become of her is she was here, all alone.

"How's Naruto then? Has he…..come to see me?"

Kazumi gained a little sparkle in her eyes at her daughter's question. This was the first time it had happen since they had arrived to Konoha last night. The trip over here hadn't exactly been a happy one.

"Why? Is there something that you need to talk to him about?"

Kushina fiddled with her sheets as she avoided her mother's gaze. "No reason…."

Kazumi shook her head with another smile. "He and your father are in the middle of something else right now."

Kazumi didn't know how, but the blond had left their group after he had made sure that they were all safe and on their way to Konoha. That student of the Hokage had informed them of it. They hadn't seen him since. But Arashi had been called to the Hokage's office early this morning. Kazumi could only hope that Naruto was there too. She needed to have a talk with him, after all. There were many things that she wanted answers to.

But there was something else that she needed to inform Kushina about. It was the whole reason that she had been made to come here by herself in the beginning.

"And what is that?" Kushina asked with a curious tone.

Shaking her head again, Kazumi said, "Don't worry about that. For now, there is something else that we need to talk about."

The woman could tell that her daughter was curious. Unfortunately, it wasn't something that could be classified as good news. But that no longer mattered to Kazumi. For better or worse, she was here with her now. And she wouldn't let her daughter go through any suffering alone.

"It's about the jinchuriki…"

The Sandaime chuckled to himself when he saw an irritated Arashi walk into his office. Leaning by one of the windows was Jiraiya with his arms crossed. Sakumo was standing next to him with his hands placed behind his back, a calm look on his face. And finally, Tsunade was standing in front of his desk with a bored look, not really knowing why she was here. Sasuke hadn't gotten the chance to tell her anything before. The boy had been too preoccupied with getting to Uzu as soon as possible.

"So the boy isn't here yet?" Arashi asked, stating the obvious.

Sandaime blew a puff of smoke through his infamous pipe. "I'm as surprised as you are, Arashi. I didn't think those two would disappear just like that."

Jiraiya huffed in slight annoyance from his position. Imagine his surprise when a random snake came slithering towards him, bringing him a message from Sasuke about how they needed to take care of some things and to not wait for them. The nerve of some people.

Sakumo merely smiled in amusement, already knowing how much Jiraiya had been looking forward to talking with Naruto.

As for Tsunade, she raised an eyebrow in curiosity, not knowing who they were talking about. It was starting to become a bit annoying for her. She could be doing other things that didn't involved standing in the office of her teacher with no clue as to what was happening.

"It does seem that those two are more in sync than we had thought," Sarutobi reasoned. Then again, they knew each other for years now. Since they were just little kids. "But the message Jiraiya received from the toads was for us to meet here this morning."

That was another thing that had put Jiraiya in a bad mood. The toads had kept Naruto's existence away from him. He could have easily met him anytime if he had only known that the boy had the contract. It was a bit annoying really.

All conversation ceased, though, when a portal suddenly opened in the middle of the room. Only Sarutobi and Tsunade tensed since they were the only ones that hadn't seen the jutsu before. A second later, Naruto and Sasuke walked out with Miyuki standing behind them. Sasuke was now dressed in a black short sleeved shirt with a high collar and the Uchiha crest in the back, black shorts, and black shinobi sandals. He had decided to change his attire a bit.

Naruto waved. "Yo!"

There was silence until Tsunade broke it. "What the fuck is going on!?"

"It's a jutsu of hers," Jiraiya answered as he pointed at Miyuki.

But before he could say anything else, Naruto beat him to the punch as he exclaimed, "Ero-Sennin! It's good to see you again, you old perv!"

Jiraiya's jaw dropped in shock. "W-what did you just call me?"

Sarutobi chuckled at this, something that was mirrored by both Sakumo and Arashi.

Tsunade smirked, coming out of her shock. "It fits perfectly, I say."

Naruto then turned his attention to her, a wide grin on his face. "And baa-chan! You're here too!"

Naruto then found himself face first on the ground courtesy of a punch by Tsunade herself.

"What the hell did you just call me, you brat!?" she said with twitching eyebrows.

Jiraiya smirked and was about to repeat what she had told him before he stopped short as Tsunade's dangerous gaze fell on him.

"Don't try it, you pervert."

"Ouch, that hurt, baa-chan!" Naruto said as he rubbed the back of his head, bringing himself up into a sitting position as he looked at the raging Senju woman.

"Stop. Calling. Me. That." Tsunade said in a warning tone through gritted teeth.

Naruto huffed as he crossed his arms. "I think I preferred you when you really were an old hag."

"ALL RIGHT, THAT'S IT! YOU WANT TO TAKE THIS OUTSIDE, YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

Naruto h'mphed as he stood up, looking up at her with a challenging look. "Bring it on, grandma! I'll school you any day, anywhere!"

"As amusing as this is," Sarutobi said, cutting in with an amused look. "I believe that we have business to attend to."

"Jiji!"

Sarutobi's eyebrow twitched.

Sasuke was holding his head from his spot next to Naruto. The idiot couldn't help himself all right. Miyuki on the other hand was watching this with great amusement. The same could be said for both Arashi and Sakumo.

"It seems that you have a nickname for everyone, Naruto," Arashi said, making the blond scratch his cheek in slight embarrassment.

"Hehehe I can't help it. I haven't seen any of you in a really long time. It just feels weird. But a good weird."

Tsunade huffed at that. "I don't know what you're talking about, brat. I've never met you before."

Raising an eyebrow at that, Naruto looked at Sasuke who coughed nervously into his palm. "You didn't tell her yet?"

"I didn't have time," Sasuke said lamely.

"Tell me what?"

Sarutobi sighed. Putting aside the "jiji" nickname, he answered, "There is a reason why we called you here, Tsunade. A very important one. One that has to deal with these two boys in front of you."

Tsunade merely raised an eyebrow in curiosity. She had been too busy taking care of the large number of patients that had suddenly been thrusted into her lap to notice either Naruto or Sasuke at the time.

"We're pretty much from the future," Naruto stated with a shrug like it was no big deal. And to him, it no longer was.

Tsunade stared at the boy in front of her for a few seconds before she looked at her sensei. "Is he serious?"

Sarutobi nodded, a serious look overtaking his features. "That is correct. The whole reason we learned of the attack on Uzu this early is because of them. They're also the ones responsible for bringing an end to the last war."

Tsunade didn't exactly know how to respond to that. She knew that Sarutobi would never joke about something as serious as this. And looking at Jiraiya who was as equally as serious now, Tsunade knew that it was the truth.

The woman sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "Well then. This isn't something that I had been planning on doing this morning."

Naruto chuckled. "You can say that again. But I'm glad you're with us, baa-chan."

Unlike last time, Tsunade just looked at the whiskered blond. He said that with much affection it gave the woman the impression that they were really close in the future.

"We'll fill you in about the details later," Sarutobi continued, bringing her attention back to him. "But for now, I suggest we hear out what they have to say."

"I would also like my questions answered," Arashi said, speaking up.

"We will have time for that," Sasuke replied.

"But first," Naruto continued, looking straight at Sarutobi, "I would like to say that Danzo is dead."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at this. "Did you kill him?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah…there was no point in trying to reason with him. If he would go that far to erase my family…..well, there was no chance he was going to change. And after everything Sasuke told me, I don't think that I made the wrong choice."

Sarutobi took another puff from his pipe. "I see. I can understand that. With everything that's happened, you can't afford to make any mistakes."

Naruto nodded, glad that the Sandaime agreed with him.

"Are you really an Uzumaki, though?" Tsunade asked, bringing out the obvious.

Naruto grinned. "Of course! Although I'm not fully, I still am half Uzumaki."

"Half," Arashi repeated. "But how? The clan rules state that-"

"Things happened differently in our time," Naruto cut in. "In the original timeline, you and the rest of the clan were meant to perish with the destruction of Uzu. Only a few survivors managed to escaped, scattering throughout the Elemental Nations. But my mother ended up here before the incident took place, ensuring her safety in the process. Event though her life after that wasn't all that great until my dad came along."

Jiraiya's eyes widened in realization. "Your father…..is he Minato?"

Sarutobi looked at his student in surprise.

Naruto smirked. "Yep! Sasuke tells me that you already took him as an apprentice."

Jiraiya could only nod, not exactly believing that he was talking to his student's future child. It was funny how life worked sometimes.

"But then who was your mother?" Arashi asked.

It was here that Naruto looked a bit nervous. "Well…..you see, that's the funny part. Except that it isn't really funny depending on how you look at it….."

Arashi sighed. "Out with it, boy."

Scratching his cheek, Naruto chuckled uneasily. "Well…..it's Kushina…."

Arashi simply stared at him with a blank look. The only ones who didn't know who Kushina was were Jiraiya and Sakumo. Sarutobi already knew since he had known Arashi for a very long time now. And Tsunade knew because she had handled her paperwork when she had been admitted to the hospital.

"You can't be serious," he said at last.

But the blond nodded. "I am. That was why you couldn't find a match to me when you sampled my blood when I first arrived in Uzu. Not like it matters anymore."

Sarutobi looked curious here. "What do you mean by that?"

"Apparently we are no longer the same," Sasuke answered, already knowing that Naruto still didn't fully understand it. "Genetically anyway. It happened when we got these."

Jiraiya looked on in interest when the Uchiha brought his left hand forward. "So that's what you've been hiding under those bandages."

Sasuke brought the hand in front of his eyes. "It's a precaution. Unfortunately, when I'm not focused, it excludes chakra on its own. And I don't want anyone getting caught by that by accident."

Now that Naruto understood. "Thankfully I don't have to worry about that."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Those gloves of yours are stupid anyway."

Narrowing his eyes, the blond itched closer to the Uchiha. "Wanna say that again, teme?"

Sasuke h'mphed, meeting Naruto's narrowed eyes as they butted heads. "You heard me, dobe. They're stupid. I wouldn't be caught dead wearing those."

Miyuki sighed as she pinched her nose. "Naruto-sama, please remember that we still have information to give," she said, watching the two boys continue to argue between one another. "The sooner we are done, the sooner the two of you can continue your childish fight."

"It's not childish!"

"It's not childish!"

Miyuki merely smiled pleasantly, her face saying that she didn't believe them for a second.

Arashi was still trying to get over the fact that he had been living with his future grandson this whole time. Or was he still his grandson? The way Sasuke had put it was a bit obscured. But the gist of it probably was that their lives no longer depended on whether or not their parents got together in this time around or not. He had to admit that it was a nice safety mechanism.

Sighing, Naruto turned to look at the Sandaime. "Super gramps also left already. He said that it was up to the two of us from here on out."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at this. "Super gramps?"

Sasuke elbowed his best friend, but it was a playful one. "You just have to give nicknames to everyone, don't you?"

Naruto chuckled. "Can't help it. It's only natural."

Sighing, Sasuke elaborated for him. "He means the Rikudo Sennin."

"The WHAT!?"

Everyone turned to look at Arashi who looked like he was about to have a heart attack. Tsunade was simply taking all of this in stride. She wasn't understanding much, but she would just ask Jiraiya to explain everything in more detail later.

Naruto waved one of his hands in dismissal. "Don't worry, gramps. I'm sure that Jiji will be happy to explain all the little details to you afterwards."

'So the Rikudo Sennin has left, eh,' Sarutobi thought to himself, immersed in his thoughts. Looking at both boys, Sarutobi smiled. 'But we still have them. And they've already proven themselves to be trustworthy.' Sarutobi could tell that they were ready for anything that came their way.

"Naruto…..it's time."

Naruto paused when he heard Kurama's voice. Looking at Arashi, he asked, "Where's Kushina right now?"

Coming out of his shock, Arashi answered, "She's with Kazumi. They're going to meet with Mito-sama this morning. But why does that-"

"Arashi," Sarutobi cut in, already knowing what Naruto wanted, "this boy in front of you becomes the third jinchuriki host for the Kyuubi in his time. Of course, I still don't know the full details of that," he finished, looking at Naruto which basically told him that he wanted to hear the full story later. Sasuke didn't know the whole story of that night, after all.

Arashi just shook his head. Finding the sofa by the wall to his left, the man walked to it before sitting down. There was just too much information being thrown at him. Shocking information. He needed to sit down.

Walking up to the Sandaime's desk, Naruto said, "I have to go for now. I have to be there."

The Sandaime could see the genuine concern in Naruto's face. Understanding, he nodded. "Of course. Her address is-"

"Don't worry," Naruto interrupted as he made for the door, "I can already sense Kurama's chakra from this time. I'll catch up with you later, Ero-Sennin. You too, baa-chan!"

And with that, Naruto was out the door, leaving Sasuke behind.

The Uchiha looked at Miyuki. "Aren't you going to go with him?"

The woman shook her head. "Naruto-sama told me to stay here in case you needed help explaining anything."

Sasuke sighed before he turned his attention to the rest of the occupants of the room. He had more explaining to do, including who Miyuki was.

'You so owe me for this, Naruto.'

But their group was complete for now. These were their beginnings.

Kushina walked hesitantly into the house, her mother standing behind her.

This morning had been a hectic one. Apparently she was to meet this old lady who was her ancestor as soon as possible. Since she had been showing signs of waking up last night, they had scheduled a meeting for today. It was certainly ambiguous. But her mother had already explained the situation to her. Why this was necessary. Why this needed to be done quickly. And why this was going to change her life forever.

Kushina now knew the whole reason she had been made to come here in the beginning. And she honestly didn't know how to take it. It was a big responsibility. She was being trusted to take upon herself a powerful entity and keep it under control. If it were not for her mother at her side, Kushina knew that she would be even more scared than she already was.

"Ah, so you're finally here, my girl."

Kushina stopped by the doorway of the only bedroom in the house, Kazumi standing next to her. On the bed was an old woman with a diamond shaped figure on her forehead and wearing an elaborate kimono. Kushina focused on the kimono for a second, wondering just how this lady could be in bed while wearing such a thing.

Looking at Kazumi, Mito said, "I would like to speak to the girl alone, if you don't mind."

Nodding, Kazumi gave her daughter a reassuring pat on the head as she left for the living room.

Sending Kushina a smile, Mito waved her hand forward. "Come on, let me take a closer look at you."

Nodding, Kushina walked slowly to the bed, not knowing what to expect.

"My, my," Mito said, grasping both of Kushina's hands with her own. "You're going to grow up to be a beautiful and powerful woman one day. I just know it."

Despite the situation, Kushina blushed at the praise. Her looks had always been something that she felt inferior about. As Aika had so bluntly told her in the past, she had the whole tomato look going for her. It had been aggravating to say the least.

"You have a tough road ahead of you," Mito continued with a calm smile. "You are about to embark down a road that will not always be pleasant."

"I'm scared," Kushina admitted, feeling that she could trust the woman before her. "I don't know what to expect. Or if I'm going to be strong enough for this…."

Kushina didn't know why she had to be the one to go through this. In all honesty, she felt that Aika would be the better choice. That was why she had started the rivalry with the girl to begin with. Aika didn't have any of the things that she did. And yet, she was always content with her life. She had never cared that no one understood her. That no one was there for her. But of course, her life changed when Naruto came into the picture. Just like hers had. Because of Naruto, Kushina began to realize all her faults. All the wrongs that she had been doing. The blond had that kind of effect. But because of that, Kushina felt inferior to Aika. And now to be chosen for such a responsibility…it was scary.

Understanding what was going in the girl's head, Mito said, "Do not worry, child. I went through the same thing you did once."

Kushina looked up at her in surprise. "Really?"

Nodding, she explained. "Yes. I fell in love with a man that, as far as my clan was concerned, I never should have. I made decisions that isolated me from the rest of my family. Even though I didn't regret my choices, some part of me did feel fear. Was I doing the right choice? Was I walking down the right path? I did not know. My fears only grew more when I became the host for the Kyuubi. The beast is powerful. Even my husband was fearful of it. But you have to realize that there is one thing that can help you overcome all of this. If you find it, then I'm sure that you'll be able to overcome this trial. Just like I have."

"And what is that?" Kushina asked.

Mito merely smiled as she turned to look at the doorway of her room just as Naruto came rushing in with a scolding Kazumi in tow. "You can't be here, Naruto."

Kushina looked back at the blond in surprise, wondering what he was doing here.

"Well, this is a surprise," Mito said, locking eyes with Naruto. "I didn't think I would get someone unexpected here today."

"Forgive me for intruding," Naruto replied hesitantly. "But I have to be here."

"Is that so," Mito said, humming to herself before looking at Kazumi. "It's quite alright, my dear. It seems that the boy is already aware of what is happening here."

Kazumi merely nodded, thinking that it probably had been Arashi to tell Naruto of this. But seeing as if Mito had no problems with that, she left the room again. This was a conversation that she had no part in.

"How do you know?" Kushina asked, feeling quite fearful now. She knew that many people would probably despise her once she became the jinchuriki. And she didn't want Naruto to be one of those people. Frankly, she probably wouldn't have told him about any of this. But that didn't matter anymore. The blond knew.

"I have my ways," Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head with a laid-back smile. Truth of the matter was that the Kurama of this time and the Kurama within him had been talking ever since he had set foot in Sarutobi's office. Apparently, the Kurama of this time period had not been in a talking mood in the beginning, not believing anything that his Kurama had to say. It wasn't until the rest of the bijuu came in that things began to settle down. Naruto knew that Kurama would be a great companion for Kushina if the two got to know each other. And that was exactly what he was going to make sure happened.

Mito watched this in silence, a small knowing smile on her face.

"And?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "And what?"

Kushina looked down. "You're not afraid of what I'm going to become?"

Naruto grinned. "Become what? You're still going to be the same Kushina. So really, I only have to be afraid of the usual you." He ended that with a teasing tone, already knowing of her temper.

Kushina looked at him in shock. But there was also hope in her vibrant violet eyes. "Really?"

Naruto nodded. "Really. And that's why I'm here. So that you know that you won't be alone. I'll be here to support you every step of the way."

Kushina couldn't help but look at him in shocked silence for a few seconds before she broke into tears at long last.

Seeing this, Naruto looked at her worriedly, wondering if he had said something wrong. It wasn't until Kushina ran up to him to hug him that he knew that he had been worried for nothing. He simply wrapped his arms around her, showing her the same warmth that she had given him once.

Mito sighed in relief when she saw this. Kushina was going to be all right.

'There is much promise here, that is for sure.'

"I'm Uzumaki Kushina! And I'm going to be the best kunoichi ever!"

The class could only stare at the young girl in front of them, not exactly sure what to make of her proclamation. Next to her, Naruto grinned. He wouldn't have expected anything else.

It was the day after Kushina had gone to meet with Mito. A lot of things had happened since then. For one, Sarutobi had begun reserving a portion of the village for the Uzumaki clan to settle in. It seemed as if he had begun construction since before Sasuke had left. For now, it wasn't going to be anything big. It was only going to be for the essentials. But the clan was only a third of its original size now. So there were a lot less members to accommodate. It would take some time, but once the former Uzu shinobi started to bring more income, the compound would grow in size. For now, though, most members were staying in the hospital with a few spread out in hotels until the compound was finished in a few days from now. In the meantime, Naruto and the other genin that had survived had been signed up for the academy and spread out in different classes. Of course, the blond had made sure to be in the same class as his mother. That was only a given.

But back to the situation at hand.

Tsume looked at the girl with an appraising eye. 'She's got spunk. I like it.'

Mikoto on the other hand was looking at Kushina with a blank look. She had labeled Kushina as an idiot with that proclamation.

Shikaku was muttering "troublesome" under his breath while Choza continued to eat his chips, not caring what Kushina had just said. Inoichi was in the same boat as Choza since Kushina didn't look all that cute to him. Next to them, Minato was looking at the redhead with a curious gaze. He had not been expecting that for sure.

Both Hiashi and Hizashi only stared at Kushina with raised eyebrows.

As for Sasuke and Fugaku, the former was shaking his head while the latter didn't care whatsoever about what was happening in front of him.

'This is going to be fun!' Naruto thought to himself.

Kazuki didn't flinch as Madara's cold gaze fell upon him. After a long trip, the young Uchiha boy had finally made it to the hideout of the long presumed dead Uchiha. Of course, Black Zetsu had parted ways with him before any of the White Zetsu clones had taken notice of him. It seemed as if Black Zetsu didn't want Madara to know of his existence yet.

"You're a long way from Konoha, boy."

Kazuki nodded. "I know. But that's because I no longer wish to be a member of that village. Or of this reality."

Madara stayed silent, analyzing the situation before him. It had been a day since a group of White Zetsu clones that he had spread out had informed him of a lone Uchiha child traveling around here. And what was more interesting was that he possessed the Mangekyo. Madara had been interested in an instant. So he had had the clones bring the boy to him. Which was where they currently were.

"I'm surprised to see that my long dead ancestor is still alive, though," Kazuki continued. "History has it written down that you died fighting against the Shodai."

Madara h'mphed. "History is full of lies, boy. This is something that you will come to know soon."

"So, the tablet. You-"

"Yes," Madara interrupted with a smile. "It seems that you read it yourself as well."

Kazuki's hands clenched into fists at his side. "Then. Tell me about it. I want to make it happen. That is why I left Konoha."

Before Madara could reply, White Zetsu sprung from the ceiling above them, a shocked look on his face. "Madara! We have another newcomer. And he knows of us."

"What?" Madara said, looking up at him with his Sharingan eye narrowed. "How can that be?"

"Because I already know of your plans, Uchiha Madara."

All occupants inside the hideout turned to the entrance to see a cloaked individual appearing out of a vortex.

White Zetsu looked shocked at this. 'But how!? The others were supposed to have kept him outside!'

Kazuki took a step back, his sharingan activating.

But if anything, Madara just looked on in curiosity now. "You…..who are you? What are you doing here? How do you know of me?"

The individual looked at Madara, showing his face to the ancient Uchiha. And for the first time since a long time, Madara felt true shock spread through his being as he saw the unknown man's visage, more specifically his eyes. He had a Mangekyo Sharingan in his right, a Rinnegan in his left. And looking more closely at him, Madara was able to sense Hashirama's cells clinging to half of his body. But if anything this raised even more questions for him.

"You may call me…..Tobi."

Wrath stood beside her master, looking at the two asleep individuals in front of her. She still didn't understand the point of this. As far as she was concerned, they were useless. But she wasn't one to question the orders that she was given. That was the whole meaning of her and her sisters' existence, after all. That didn't mean that she wasn't curious.

"What's going to happen now?"

Nori grinned. "This is only the beginning, of course. Now, rise up. Your lives belong to me now. Understand?"

Two pair of eyes opened.

Nori's laughter ran throughout the palace.

Two shadows formed in front of one another. The world around them was pitch black. But that didn't matter to either of them. They had more important things to take care of.

"So you're here too. Why am I not surprised," the first shadow said with a grunt.

"Don't look at me. This wasn't any of my doing. Our dear father had the bright idea of tinkering with things. And now, things are on the verge of collapsing all over again.

"Hmph. You don't sound too happy at being here."

"I'm not. And you shouldn't be either. Especially since it was Nori who got us free."

"Then I will thank him. For once, I might be able to actually live again."

"You stubborn idiot! He already tricked you once! What more proof do you want that he only sees you as a tool!?"

"Do not worry. I won't act for now. I'll see how things go. For once, I am more interested in seeing where all of this will go than interfering."

The second shadow faced away. "Do what you want. But if you try to interfere, I won't sit by idly. I stopped you once. I will do it again if need be."

And with that, the two shadows disappeared, leaving no trace that behind.