Eighteen years ago the system of the Five Great Shinobi Nations was abolished, merging into one country; the Land of Elements, led by the Ōkage(1). Two years ago a group calling themselves Raven's Gate grew large enough to challenge the Land of Elements, backed by a foreign, unknown, power. The war continued on to the current day, devolving into a war of attrition, the losses taken by both sides equal, neither willing to give up. The children of many, those in power along with those of the rank and file soldiers, had lost their lives, including the children of the Ōkage and his wife, as had those of many of his close friends and confidantes. Giving up on a war that would continue until either, or both, sides were completely annihilated, the parents came up with a plan that they hoped would stop the war before it began. They would send some of their strongest shinobi to the past, which brings us to current events...
Namikaze Naruto, the Ōkage, entered the sealing room, followed by his wife, Hinata, and then their closest friends, family and confidantes. When they had all entered Shikamaru, Ino, Darui, Kakashi, Temari, Konohamaru and Kurotsuchi stood at the seven points of the sealing array that Naruto had devised in order for their, really rather outrageous, plan to work. Naruto looked at his Aide, Samui, and asked, "Do you really think that we need to do this?" knowing that whatever happened, the people assisting in the ritual would, in all likelihood, never leave the room by their own volition after it had completed.
Samui sighed and said, "Shikamaru and yourself have tried to find any other way to resolve this situation, and came up with nothing."
Naruto sighed in resignation before he, his wife, and Anko took their places in the centre of the sealing array, Hinata's eyes turning yellow with a silver, rectangular, pupil, the area around her eyes turning orange. Naruto's own eyes turned orange as he gained a yellow chakra shroud. Anko's eyes transformed into a slit-like pupil with olive-green irises, a purple shade surrounding her eyes and extending a short distance down the sides of her nose. Naruto looked at Hinata and Anko, and asked, "Ready?"
"As long as I'm with you I'm ready for anything," Hinata said, holding her husband's hand for what could easily be the last time should they fail.
"Alright then," Naruto said upon seeing Anko nod, "Let's start this already." As he did the shinobi standing at the points of the seal array started doing a unique set of handseals while Naruto, Hinata and Anko started doing a set of unique, identical, set of handseals. When they were done there was a massive influx of Natural Energy into the room, entering into the bodies of those that were performing the ritual, turning said shinobi into anthropomorphic, stone, amphibians.
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The next thing Naruto knew, after being blown away from the rest of his team by a massive gust of wind, he was inside the stomach of a gigantic snake. He struggled around for a bit until he found that it was an active attempt at futility.
Meanwhile, in Naruto's mindscape, the Ōkage faded into existence in front of the fox's cage, who struck out at him, growling, "Yondaime!" seeing the crimson coat with black flames that resembled the Yondaime Hokage's.
"Not quite," the Ōkage commented, "Kurama."
"What do you...Wait! How do you know that name?"
The Ōkage smiled and said, "Look closer. Feel anything familiar?"
"Famil..." Kurama started to say before his eyes widened at feeling his own chakra rushing through the blonde's body. "How do you...?
"That can wait while you call young Naruto in here."
"Why would I do something like that?"
"Curiosity for one..." the Ōkage said, his former tenant growling as he knew that that alone would be enough, however the Ōkage continued on, "...of course, once you do your host will be nowhere near as weak as he is right now."
Kurama grunted, "That works," and did as the blonde requested, drawing Naruto into his mindscape as he was forming a Ram seal.
When Naruto saw the massive gate in front of him with a paper seal on it, and the other blonde nearby, he demanded, "What the hell is going on here? No...more importantly, who the hell're you, 'n' why do you look like me?"
The Ōkage sighed and said, "Look, just stand there, be quiet, and I'll explain everything to you", and to Mr. Fox over there," shaking his thumb in the direction of the cage.
Naruto said, "Huh...What do you..." before he took a closer look at the cage and saw that, indeed, the Kyūbi was sealed inside it.
"Okay, now that you know that Mr. Fox is there, I'll get on with the story, alright?" Naruto nodded. "Good. First things first… I'm you...from the future."
"Huh?" Naruto exclaimed, "But how can you be me when I'm me? Dattebayo!"
"Yes yes," The Ōkage said, sighing when he heard the verbal tick that he so detested, as it was recorded many a time during the early meetings after the formation of the Land of Elements. "I know that you're you and I'm me, but at the same time I'm you and you're me." Seeing that Naruto was going to interrupt again the Ōkage said, "Look, let me finish and then talk, alright?" Naruto nodded again. "Good. Now, let's start again. In the future all of the Shinobi Nations merged together to form the Land of Elements, and I was chosen to be the leader of that country, the Ōkage."
"Wait...What?...But..."
The Ōkage continued, ignoring his younger self's attempts to interrupt him. "I won't go into how it happened, as that may set the future on a pre-determined course, one that my wife and I have come back to try to prevent Dattebayo!...Damnit! I did it again, didn't I?" Kurama chuckled.
'Datte...' Naruto thought, 'Maybe this guy really is me after all...which means that what he's saying is probably true too.'
"Anyway, two years ago, for me, a group calling itself Raven's Gate entered into a war with the Land of Elements, backed by some foreign power. In the end it devolved into nothing more than a war of attrition where we were losing an equal number of troops on both sides...That should be enough for now. As for Mr. Fox..."
"Hey! I've still got a bunch of questions for you mister! Dattebayo!"
"All of which you will have answers for soon," the Ōkage said as he turned to look at the fox. "Now, as to your previous observation, before the formation of the Land of Elements I joined up with the Hachibi and became able to control your powers. Since then you and I have been partners."
Kurama angrily demanded, "You expect me to belie..."
"I expect nothing of the sort. After all, I just appeared here and told the both of you all of this. You don't know me or anything like that, so you can't be sure of my words, but then, you don't need them, do you?" Kurama growled at being called on his bluff. "All I ask is that you take it into consideration." Kurama growled his acceptance of the request. "Very well then," the Ōkage said as he started to form handseals. When he was done he said, "Yamanaka-Ryū: Nagori Tensō(2)," and placed his right hand on Naruto's head, fading away into nothing as his memories, and what was left of his once massive chakra, were transferred to Naruto, who, in the real world as well as in his mindscape, was surrounded by a blue orb of chakra, the excess of what the Ōkage had given him. His body, incapable of handling it all, subconsciously used it to stimulate his growth so that he would be able to use what had been given to him. When the blue orb dissipated he was left three inches taller, and more toned, than he had been.
Seeing the changes in his host the Kyūbi asked, "How much do you know, boy?"
"About what?" Naruto asked.
"About me."
"Oh, apparently I sealed most of my memories of you before the transfer, all I know is that I used to be able to use your powers freely, but that method will no longer work. Basically nothing has changed between the two of us."
"I see," the Kyubi said, thinking, 'I guess that what he said might have been true then, we really did get along. If that's true then maybe,' the Kyūbi's thoughts trailed off before he said, "Alright Naruto, once you've gotten through this exam I think it would be wise for us to come to an agreement. How does that sound?"
"An agreement?" Naruto half-asked, pausing before continuing, "I'll tell you what I think about it after I hear it," no longer willing, or able, to go along with what another said, just because they said it. Naruto said, "But for now I need to get out of this snake," as he faded from his mindscape. When he 'woke up' he found himself being pressed at from all sides, still in the snake's stomach. He said, "Fūton: Tenrin." causing many blades of wind to rush around his body in a sphere, severing the snake around him.
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Meanwhile, the other two members of his team had met up after being blown away by the same gust of wind that had led to Naruto's being the main course for the snake. When they did, Sasuke asked, "When does the ninja strike?"
Sakura said, "Uhh..." momentarily forgetting that they had set a password. When she remembered, she said, "Oh, right...A ninja waits until the time is right, when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard, when his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night, that is the moment for the ninja to strike."
Sasuke sighed in relief that Sakura truly was Sakura and not some phony in disguise. As he did Naruto rushed up, saying, "Guys, guys, are you alright? I..."
Sakura interrupted him before he could go on though, saying, "Hold it right there," she paused for effect before continuing, "What's the password?"
"Oh! Right," Naruto said, "A ninja waits until the time is right, when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard, when his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night, that is the moment for the ninja to strike."
Sakura, hearing the password, sighed in relief, saying, "Oh good, it's really you."
Sasuke just threw a kunai at him, causing him to dodge out of the way, causing him to demand to know what was going on. Sasuke commented, "I've got to hand it to you, you're quicker than the last one."
"What are you talking about? What was wrong with that?" Sakura demanded, not knowing what was going through her desired one's head. "He just got the password right, word for word."
"Exactly, that's what's wrong." Naruto sat up from his position on the ground, looking confused. "Do you really think that Naruto could memorise all that? And get it word for word? Not the Naruto I know. Not in a million years. You'd have a better chance at teaching it to a hamster."
"Oh right," Sakura said, admitting both her mistake, and the level of belief and trust that she had in her teammate. "You've got a point."
"Besides, you saw the way this guy moved, when he dodged my attack. That was definitely not a Naruto move. Come on, whoever you are, party's over."
The Naruto on the ground chuckled as his tongue flicked out of his mouth, running around his lips. The Naruto said, "Aren't we the clever one," in a creepy tone. A cloud of smoke engulfed the Naruto as the unknown shinobi dispelled the Henge(3), revealing that it was the grass kunoichi(4) that returned Anko's kunai to her at the start of the second exam, who queried, "Tell me, if your teammate is that dim-witted, why would you come up with a password that he'd never be able to remember?"
Sasuke replied, "Well, it wasn't so much for Naruto than it was for anybody else who might have been listening in on us. It was meant as a trap, and you stumbled right into it."
The kunoichi took her straw hat off as she said, "I'm impressed, you certainly haven't dropped your guard, have you? This promises to be very entertaining," and licked the edge of her hat.
Sakura thought, 'Ugh, she gives new meaning to the word creepy...where is Naruto?'
The kunoichi drew out her Earth Scroll, causing Sakura to gasp in surprise, and a little bit of relief at seeing the scroll that they needed to complete the second exam so early on, causing the kunoichi to let out a sound of pleasure before saying, "You'd love to get your hands on our Earth Scroll, wouldn't you? It would go so nicely with your Heaven Scroll," before wrapping her tongue around it and swallowing it. She then said, "Well, when all of this is over, one of us will have both scrolls, and the other will be dead," before pulling down on the skin below her eye, assaulting Sasuke and Sakura with her full Killing Intent, causing the two genin to see images of their own death.
Sasuke, after seeing his death, thought, 'Is this...an illusion?' He fell to his knees and threw up, 'no, it's more than that. Her Killer Intent is almost...palpable. Looking in her eyes...I saw the moment of my death! Who...who is she...wh...what is she?' He forced himself to look to his right and said, "Sa...Sakura...?" only to see her shaking uncontrollably. 'No...use...she's got it...worse than me! We've got to get out of here...get away from her...' He looked at the kunoichi in the eye and, seeing the depravity reflected in them, morbidly thought, 'She's...Death!' The kunoichi stalked towards the two genin, taking her time in order to increase the fear that the two felt towards her. After three steps though she got bored and threw two kunai at the immobile genin. Sasuke, though mostly unable to move, forced himself to stab himself in his thigh, overpowering the fear that was immobilising him with pain. When he could move again he quickly got out of the way of the kunai that was targeting him and picked Sakura up from where she was, jumping through the trees in order to get away from the kunoichi that seemed to delight in their fear.
When Sasuke determined that they had retreated far enough he let Sakura down on a tree branch, collapsing against the trunk himself. She sat there, dumbfounded, for about thirty seconds before seeing Sasuke's wound and quietly shrieking, "Ohh, Sasuke!"
Meanwhile, back where they had left the deranged kunoichi, she was thinking, 'A desperate move, but a clever one. He overcame the fear with pain. So, this prey is not so helpless after all.'
Back with Sasuke and Sakura, Sasuke had just pulled the kunai in his leg out of it, causing Sakura to gasp at the sight of it. She said, "That wound's really deep! Will you be alrigh..." before Sasuke clamped his hand over her mouth.
Sasuke thought, 'Gotta move! Gotta get away from her!' somehow knowing that the kunoichi wouldn't give up that easily. 'But how?...Where?'
Sakura thought, 'I've never seen Sasuke like this before! It's got me scared,' as if it was some kind of impossibility, and then saw a massive snake slink up behind them, hanging down from a tree. She tried to talk around Sasuke's hand, but, unable to do so, ended up forcing his hand away from her, yelling, "Sasuke, watch out!" as if the snake held no imminent danger towards herself. As the snake bit down on them they jumped in opposite direction, away from the gigantic reptile.
As Sasuke flew through the air he said, "Ahh! Unbelievable! I didn't even notice! I'm losing it!" as the snake coiled around the tree that they had just been resting on before flinging itself at the arrogant Uchiha. As it flew towards him, Sasuke saw a transparent image of the crazed kunoichi's face superimposed upon the snake's. "No!" Sasuke screamed, "Get away-y!" as he drew, and threw, five shuriken at the snake, embedding them in its eyes and the top of its mouth, so that they easily penetrated it, sticking into its brain, killing it immediately. It fell into the bough of a tree, not falling to the ground, blood seeping out of the wounds.
Sasuke, breathing heavily as he looked at the snake, gasped at the same time as Sakura when they saw a patch of the snake's skin break away, as if it was cut. As the kunoichi rose up from the cut, she said, "I sense your fear and desperation. It's only natural. The prey must never let down its guard. Not even for a moment, in the presence of its predator," and started to chuckle, as her tongue shot out and started wiggling all about.
The kunoichi, like the snake had done, curled snakelike around the tree, shooting along the branch, before being stopped by three kunai thrown in her slitherpath, a voice announcing, "Looks like I got here just in time." The three shinobi looked in the direction from which the kunai had come from, and saw Naruto, although he seemed to be a bit taller than before. What Sasuke and Sakura couldn't tell, although the kunoichi could, was that Naruto's eyes had changed somewhat. The irises of his eyes were yellow, the pupil slightly elongated, the area around them orange.
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A/N
Attacks
(1) Ōkage = Great Shadow
(2) Yamanaka-Ryū: Nagori Tensō = Yamanaka-Style: Memory Transfer - A jutsu of the Yamanaka clan that allows a shinobi to transfer some, or all of their memories to another. This requires a great deal of chakra to perform, as such very few are actually able to use it.
(3) Henge = Transformation - Self explanatory
(4) Based upon the English dub rather than the Japanese rendition
