Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I own the Cover Image.

[AN]: I'll admit this was a pointless idea that just bounced around in my head. I ended up writing it for the hell of it.

Story Content Warning:

- Time Traveling.

- Older!Naruto.

- Large Harem. 12 girls are planned to be part of Naruto's Harem, though numbers may change in the future.

- Gender-bending. So far, there's only Sasuke.

- Incest (I think). Depends how you want to take it, since [Naruto x Naruko] is featured in here.

- Age Gap. Most of the girls in the harem are about 6-7 years younger than Naruto, so if that isn't your thing please turn back now. I do plan to have at least one of the girls be older than him.

- Sexual Situations. Kissing, petting, and all that. Maybe some hands-on lessons about sex. Stuff like that. Not right-off the bat, though.

- Limes / Lemons (?) This one's a maybe for now. While I really want to write one, I have never attempted one before so it may be bad.

Please be aware, if I do include lemons then there's a possibility that a few of the girls will engage in sexual acts with him before they turn 16. (Youngest limit being 13)

Read at your own discretion.

You have been warned.

xOx

Time Traveling Without Warranty

Chapter 1: Out of Whack

O

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure, sat behind his wooden desk in his office. Upon that desk were stacks of documents that he had yet to look at, much to his ever dismay, and a small, framed picture of his son. He had his fingers interlaced with one another as he rested his forearms on the desk. He took a small drag of his pipe before blowing out a puff of smoke.

Hiruzen turned his face towards the left wall and eyed the calendar that was marked with X's. What his eyes were gazing intensely at was the bold X that was placed in the box of October 10th, then he looked at the year that he had not seen in a way long time - 13 years to be exact.

At that moment, a loud shriek pierced his hearing. Turning his head to the right, he found where the origin of the cries that continued to vibrate through his ears drums.

It was a rectangular cradle. With slim cylinder bars as walls and squared corners that had dulled from time, he was quite familiar with this wooden crib. The last time he had ever saw it was when he had personally cared for Naruto in his infancy stage, before he had moved the blond boy into a single room apartment at the age of six.

This did not sit very well with the Sandaime Hokage, not in the slightest bit. He felt his aging stomach churn from within him, as if urging him to stay away from there, but the rest of his body would not listen. With eyes widen in disbelief, he slowly stood up from his desk. Step by step, the former Hokage walked around his table and cautiously approached the cradle. When he was finally there, he could only stare on in amazement and confusion, too fixated that the ear-numbing shrill from the baby failed to register into his senses.

Right in the middle of the confines of the crib was a baby, just a little over a few days old, with a tuft of blond hair that he was familiar with. The newborn's small frame was wrapped in a blanket, protected from the cold and restricted from any excessive movement.

Hiruzen couldn't help but swallow the lump that was caught in his throat. A wave of nostalgia washed over him, lasting for a brief second only for it to revert back to the sinking feeling in his stomach once again. He didn't want to believe it but the evidence in front of him was just simply irrefutable.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had been sent back to the past, 13 years prior to his death.

And to him, that was just moments ago. It took a while for him to process that through his head, finishing with an exhausted breath.

Shaking the thoughts of his death from his mind, the Sandaime Hokage pocketed his pipe and focused his attention back onto the crying baby. Chuckling all in good mirth, the old man gently picked up the blond baby to cradle him in his arms and began to rock him back and forth. Hiruzen made sure his motion was as soft as a summer breeze, and even went as far as to bounce the baby in his arms.

"Heh heh heh. I never would have thought that I would get another chance to baby you again like this, eh Naruto-kun?" Hiruzen rhetorically asked, not expecting a response from the infant. "Then again, I was not expecting myself to wake up over a decade in the past."

The Sandaime's tender and soothing voice worked like a charm. The baby's cry slowly lowed into silence, as the newborn's eyelids opened up, exposing his cerulean-blue orbs to the old man.

Peering into those innocent eyes with his own harden ones strung at his withering soul. The corner of his lips quirked up slightly as a new thought surfaced into his mind.

"I guess this means I can give you a better life, now that I know what would happen if I told the village that the Kyuubi no Yoko is sealed into you."

It was a choice that was completely opposite of his procedures last wish. The Yondaime Hokage would have wanted everyone in Konoha to know that it was his boy – his own flesh and blood – that carried the responsibility for keeping the Kyuubi at bay. For Naruto to be revered by everyone as a hero of Konoha and become a symbol of the village's resilience, with the boy being depicted as tough enough to be the living and breathing walking-prison of the rampaging monster-fox.

Yes, in an ideal world Namikaze Minato's vision would have succeeded without a scratch. A flawless idea that would have had his son's name in the history books.

The only problem there was Hiruzen already knew how the people would react – civilians and professional ninjas alike.

Naruto would live a life of near isolation and solitude; endure the publicly condemned eyes of the people, and the mistreatment from shopkeepers and teachers who could not see passed their hate for the Bijuu.

Sarutobi Hiruzen decided then and there that there would be none of that. Not for a second time around.

The Sandaime gritted his teeth at those mere thoughts; keeping his face as nice as possible, away from any rage-filled expressions that might have upset the child in his arms that he had rocked to sleep. With the care of a mother, the Hokage carefully placed the baby back into the cradle. Laying sight on the blond's peaceful face was enough to strengthen his resolve to create a better life for the unwilling Jinchuuriki.

Nodding to himself, Hiruzen decided to check Minato's handiwork. While he may have trusted the Yondaime's skills in Fuuinjutsu, especially when they far surpassed his own, caution was something that was encouraged among ninjas.

He began to free the baby from the cloth restriction that was the blanket where he met a dire problem…

"WHA-?!" The Hokage was quick to choke on his words. He was baffled at the sight before him. "A-ANBU! GET THE MEDICS, GET THE MEDICS HERE, IMMEDIATLEY! AND WHERE THE HELL IS TSUNADE WHEN YOU NEED HER?!"

Four of the elite ninjas instantly dropped into the room in a crouched bow and in diamond-formation.

"Is the problem, Hokage-sama?" asked the masked ninja that was head of the formation. He was a male with a calm voice, dressed in the standard uniform for the Anbu division with a white mask that had black marking that resembled a bird.

"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT THERE IS A PROBLEM!" Even though Hiruzen was yelling at the top of his lungs, the baby continued to sleep. Picking up the nude baby, the Hokage presented them the newborn with extended arms. "LOOK, HAWK! HIS PENIS IS GONE! NARUTO-KUN'S PENIS IS GONE! HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN!"

The four Anbu members immediately snapped towards the frantic old man. If it weren't for the porcelain mask that covered their faces, he was sure that each one of them would be sporting a face of utter confusion.

"DID MINATO ACCIDENTALLY SEAL IT INSIDE THE SHINIGAMI ALONG WITH HIS SOUL, TOO?! OR DID THAT BASTARD BOTCH HIS OWN SEALING TECHNIQUE ON HIS NEWBORN SON!"

Slightly afraid of his fuming village leader, Hawk stood up and called out to the Sandaime. "Uhh… Hokage-sama?" Being trained in the ranks of Anbu had hardened him to be unemotional and fearless, but even he couldn't help but slip out in an unsteady tone in his address. To be honest, he was quite surprised that the infant didn't wake up. "What do you mean by that? Girls aren't normally born with a penis, although there are cases like that. To my knowledge, Kushina-sama had birthed a healthy baby girl… you know, without the male parts…"

Hawk wasn't a medic-nin so he was pretty uncomfortable answering this.

Hiruzen stopped ranting and froze in place. Quickly and in a sedate pace, the old man rewrapped the baby in her blanket and placed her back in the crib. He turned back to his four Anbu guards while he pulled his pipe back out and placed it between his lips. After lighting it up, he inhaled it's essence before blowing out a grey puff. "A girl? Is that so…" His face stayed neutral as he acted like the past minute didn't happen. "My mistake. Hawk. Your team may be dismissed for now, I would like some time to myself."

The Anbu leader didn't answer immediately, taking a brief second to consider if that was wise. But ultimately he didn't get the option of choosing whether or not that was a good idea. He lived solely for taking the Hokage's orders. So all he could do was ask, "Are you sure, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, yes." The Sandaime waved off the man's worry. "I'm fine, it just slipped my mind that she was a girl since Minato had always told me that he wanted to name his kid after the main character from Jiraiya's book."

"Umm, the Yondaime wanted a boy named Chinpo?"

Hearing the vulgar word being passed as a name caused the Hokage to refute a bit more furiously than he intended to. "Not the Ich Icha series, you idiot! I meant the first book he ever wrote, the Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi! And that story was not smut-orientated!"

"Haaa," Hawk deflated in the face of the elder Sarutobi's reprimand. Leaning to the left towards his comrade, he placed a cupped hand on the side of his mouth that suggested that he didn't want his voice to reach the Sandaime's ears. "Did Jiraiya-sama ever write a book unrelated to smut?"

All he got in return was a wordless shrug.

Forcing himself not to sigh at the nonchalant commander, Hiruzen settled for a prolonged inhale of smoke from his pipe, then soon blew it into the air. "Forget it. Just go on a break already. I'll signal you if I need your team's assistance."

"Hai."

And then he was alone, his only company being the sleeping girl in the cradle. Turning his attention back to her, he pondered on a name for her. He didn't know if Minato and Kushina had a name if they suddenly had a girl so he would have to find a suitable one on his own…

The image of Naruto using the Oiroke no Jutsu flashed through his mind and he had to fight down a blush. Now THAT was a technique that he would never forget. Hiruzen remembered that Naruto had a name for that form, too.

"Well, I guess that name will do." Looking at the pleasant face of the sleeping baby one last time, he grinned like a loving grandfather before heading back to his desk. "Good night, Naruko."

Hawk, not seen in sight, spoke up like a ghostly voice. "Actually, Sandaime, the Konoha Council named her Natsumi."

"I SAID HER NAME IS NARUKO! UNDERSTOOD?!"

"H-Hai, Hokage-sama!"

X

Nine years have passed for the old time traveler. Nine brutally long years that involved him fixing his biggest, most guilt ridden mistakes that he had made from his passed life.

One prime example of that was Orochimaru.

In his previous lifetime, Hiruzen failed to end Orochimaru, which led the Snake-sannin to develop a hate for Konoha. The results of that were obviously bad. Konoha was invaded and he died in the same manner as the Yondaime Hokage.

The elder ninja had learned from that mistake and chose an alternative path for this almost decade-younger existence.

He had killed his student the day he had caught him red-handed inside his secret base where he was experimenting on babies to recreate the Shodaime's Mokuton. While it was true that he could have stopped his former student from kidnapping innocent children a few years earlier, he didn't. It was necessary evil, he reasoned. If Orochimaru's project took a turn for the worst just because he was earlier than he was in his last life, then the possibility of Tenzo being a failed subject wouldn't be far off the mark. Hiruzen couldn't afford that.

Tenzo couldn't reach the full potential of utilizing Mokuton like Hashirama had, only finding the height of his ability to reach a tenth of what the Shodaime could display. By comparison his Mokuton paled greatly to the original, like the difference in strength between a Genin and a Jounin.

Despite that, Hiruzen knew that Tenzo was still a force to be reckoned with. Being the only one that could use the Kekkei Genkai that seemed to be exclusive to the Shodaime, he was easily feared on the battle field since his ability was by far from being expected. And although he could only show a fraction of the first Hokage's prowess, it was enough to be a devastating tool in his arsenal.

It was also noteworthy to note that at age fourteen, Tenzo had made it into the Anbu forces – or course this was pretending like he didn't work under Danzo in the four years prior to him joining the regular Anbu.

A beep from his intercom earned his attention and the voice of his female secretary spoke through.

[Hokage-sama, the Konoha Council have already voted on the –er, ahem, policy that you submitted to them.]

Hiruzen quirked an eyebrow in partial surprise and responded back by pressing a button and speaking into the microphone. "That was rather quick, considering that I had only submitted it to them just yesterday. Usually it takes a whole week to get a document processed by them."

[…why yes, it was answered awfully fast, but I suppose you, uh, caught their attention?]

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes from hearing the uncomfortable tone that was used by his secretary. It was like she really didn't want to be the one to tell him the results of his submission. "Yes, I suppose you are right. But as Hokage, I must make extreme decisions for the good of the Konoha and her villagers. Now tell me, what is their answer?"

[Ah! Uuuuuh, are you sure you don't want me to send someone up to your office with your document? Because I have someone here that-]

"That is alright, no need to burden anyone with my paper work," the Hokage quickly stated, cutting her from finishing her sentence. "I am an impatient man anyways, so please tell me if they have approved of my idea."

[…no.]

"…WHAT?!" he exclaimed in rage. "Wha- what do you mean 'no'?! Are you telling me they disapproved an idea that would skyrocket the forces of Konoha in such a short time?!"

[Yes. And I agree.] Her voice was noticeably firmer now, like she had absolutely agreed with the decision made by the Konoha Council.

"Insolence!" the Sandaime screamed out, pointing an accusing finger at the intercom. "How could you agree with such a pair as indecent as them?! Have you betrayed your Hokage?!"

The secretary sighed through the intercom as she answered. [Of course not, Hokage-sama. But they have an irrefutable point on this matter.]

"Damn!" The old man slammed both hands against his desk, sending papers flying all around the room as he hunched over. "Damn you, Council! Damn you all to hell!"

[Please be understanding, Hokage-sama. No matter how you look at it, you are too old to participate in any Clan Restoration Act.] Actually, she thought that the idea overall was plain stupid, motivated by pure lust, but seeing as she was talking to someone as respectable as the Sandaime Hokage the secretary tried to be gentle with her words.

"Nonsense! I'm confident that my little swimmers could squirm their way through the toughest of storms! Not even the great whirlpools of Uzushio could stop them! Bwahahaha!"

[…]

"…hello?"

[… … …]

The secretary couldn't answer him. Her head was too deep in a bucket as she felt her stomach lurch painfully.

Seeing as the conversation ended, Hiruzen began to calm himself down. It would be unbecoming of a Hokage to be hit with a heart attack. All because he was complaining about his little harem-making policy failed to be passed.

He would keep resubmitting it, not because he had faith that it would one day pass, but because he loved to annoy the hell out of his fellow peers, the few he had left from the days where he was a mere fresh Genin. It was something that he had missed out on in his other life where he was more cautious towards them and another reason to be thankful that he had come back to the past.

A hard series of knocks drew his attention before the door was opened none too softly. The Hokage's face never shifted, he expected her to be in a brash mood right about now due to him continuously postponing her mission.

Stomping into the middle of the office was a 21 year old woman whose beauty could not be copied. She was slightly shorter than most adults standing at 5'5" and she had a body that curved in the right places, along with a heavy set of breasts that would never go unnoticed. She had light brown, pupil-less eyes, and short black hair that was kept in a spiky, fanned-ponytail.

She was dressed in her usual garb: a tan overcoat that was worn over a fitted mesh body suit that stretched from her neck down to her thighs, a dark orange mini-skirt with a dark blue belt around her waist, grey shin guards that protected most of her leg, and forehead protector that was partially covered by her bangs.

Looking over towards the peeved kunoichi nonchalantly, Hiruzen welcomed her with an easy-going smile. "Ah, Anko. It's nice to see you again. What might I help you with today?"

She clicked her tongue in return as she stood there with her arms crossed and one foot tapping against the wooden floor, looking not too happy at the moment.

"Hokage-sama," she greeted back in an even tone, anger masked from her voice. As much as she would have liked to scream profanities at the old man behind the desk, he was her superior. He was a man who deserved all the respect in the world for his great feats, including cultivating Konoha in what it was today. "I'm here regarding the mission that I was informed of… two… weeks… ago." The last three words were spoken through gritted teeth. "You know, the one where I get to raid Orochimaru's bases."

"Ah, yes, that one." Hiruzen shifted in his seat, purposely delaying her out of quilt from his heart. Unfortunately, that did little to ease him. His next words would certainly not be well received. "Not yet."

Like a thin branch failing to support excessive weight, she snapped. Anko stomped hard against the floorboard, earning splintering wood for her action. "Like hell I'll settle for an excuse like that again!"

In the blink of an eye, she was surrounded. Four Anbu operatives boxed her, tanto's drawn and ready to taste blood. She may have been from Konoha, the same as them, but the four masked ninjas would put down anyone that posed as a hostile threat to the Hokage without hesitation.

"Stand down, Hawk," ordered Hiruzen. He showed a calm demeanor in this situation. It was understanding that she would be pissed at his words, especially when it wasn't exactly the first time he had used them on her. Ever since then Anko had been asking for the green light to start the mission and every time he answered with the same two words that did nothing to explain his reasoning. 'I should have waited for Jiraiya to come before telling her. I never thought that perverted student of mine would be this tardy.'

The Anbu commander never shifted his eyes away from the Tokubetsu Jounin. "If that is your order Hokage-sama."

"It is."

"…understood."

They were gone just as quick as they came. It was only Hiruzen and Anko in the room. The latter began to talk.

"What was the point of telling me the specifics of the mission if you're not even ready to let me take it? You know how antsy I am when it involves stuff related to that snake bastard." She rubbed at the back of her neck to ward off the sickly prick she felt there. "It's hardly my fault I'm impatient, you know. It's like you tell your kid in advance that his birthday party next week is going to be held at a carnival, but you keep pushing it back because of some stupid reason like it was raining that day or you had to work late."

"Ah, yes, I know how that feels all too well, as a matter of fact." The old Kage could remember those horrid days were Jiraiya would keep delaying the new releases of Icha Icha. He remembered that one of the reasons was because the Sandaime Hokage had over-worked him, thus leading to a lot of hate-mail from smut fans everywhere. How the hell did they get his address? Whatever. Those were dark times that Hiruzen would never want to head back to. "You are right. What I did was very wrong and I will try to avoid doing so in the future."

"That's appreciated and all but I'd like to know the actual reason as to why you're making me wait."

A hum of consideration filled the silent office. "Alright. Another person will be assisting you with your mission, but he has yet to come. Jiraiya was supposed to have brought him hear a few weeks ago, but as you can tell, he didn't. Knowing that perverted student of mine, he's probably visiting every brothel on the way here."

"Great. So I'm stranded in this village while I anxiously wait for my partner whose being led here by none other than the gallant pervert? How enjoyable – woohoo." Anko made no effort to hide her sarcastic and lackluster attitude. "Why do I have to wait for one when I could just take when that's in the village already? I mean we have a ton of them and I'm sure they're not all going to get sent out for a mission today?"

"While I am sure that any one of our Jounin would be sufficient in assisting you with exploring the bases of Orochimaru, this person has quite a bit of history with him."

Anko stayed silent for a bit. It's been some number of years since she and her old teacher parted ways, on bad terms at that. As far as she knew, the only ones loyal to Konoha who could say that their beef with the Snake-sannin was personal were her, the Sandaime Hokage, Jiraiya, and Tsunade. Out of that handful, two were not permanent residence of the village. And since Jiraiya would be leading Anko's companion, that only left…

A light bulb went off in her head, her eyes widened with a sense of realization. "Wait. Is it Tsunade-sama? She's the one that I'm partnering-up with?" Anko asked in bewilderment at the prospect of working with someone as highly renounced in the ninja world as the Slug-sannin.

One of Hiruzen's eyebrow was raised at her sudden conclusion, though understood, somewhat. "It has been relatively long since I had last spoken to her, and from the last letter that Shizune wrote, they are currently on the run from loan sharks." He chuckled in amusement, sending thoughts of prayer to the poor apprentice. "So to answer your question: no, it is not Tsunade."

Anko gazed down at the floor. "It's not her… then who…" She couldn't think of any other viable individual in Konoha besides the few she had already named. While Orochimaru did have more acquaintances, the only others she could name were not from Konoha. "Hold up. Are you telling me that I'm going to be paired with someone not from this village?"

If it was true, then she didn't like it. It would give that person a chance to look over dangerous material that would end up becoming a future harm to Konoha. Orochimaru was a jutsu-obsessed maniac with no qualms about crossing forbidden boundaries. Much so that he had been developing a way to become immortal – with the price of having to inhabit a body every five years – just so he could have extra time to thoroughly learn every technique in existence.

Although it was left unfinished – death at the hands of Hiruzen preventing the the technique from being complete – someone else could pick up where he had left off. If an outsider could get their hands on that, take it back to their village and fill-in the blanks, then…

Before her mind jumped the gun, the Hokage interrupted her.

"Not precisely."

"Not precisely," Anko repeated with a small look of disbelief in her eyes. "What do you mean by that? He's either loyal to Konoha or he's not. There can't be an in-between, even if this person's from an allied village."

"Well then, this young man would be an exception." When the tokubetsu Jounin didn't answer him, Hiruzen took that as the que to explain himself. "He is not from another village, so you won't have to look over your shoulders in his company. And while he is not from this village, I can assure you that he is loyal to Jiraiya."

That gave the kunoichi pause. She didn't like the idea of teaming with a ninja not from Konoha, given the circumstances of the mission, but it was different if it was someone that the Toad-sannin trusted enough to let him near Orochimaru's bases.

"Well… fine," Anko conceded. She figured that it was someone that was part of the hermit's spy network. "I guess that's good enough. But I'm warning you, if he tries anything funny then Jiraiya-sama's gonna have one less friend around him."

"Of course," Hiruzen nodded in agreement. "No good would come to Konoha if Intel from my former student should leak out."

"And if you don't mind me asking, Hokage-sama, why is it that Jiraiya-sama is sending someone else instead of going himself? I mean, he and Orochimaru used to be teammates and close friends, right? So wouldn't it make more sense that he'd want to personally inspect these secret bases? You know, to cover up anything that could potentially sully the great Snake-sannin's name?" Besides the slip of sarcasm to the word 'great', Anko asked a serious question.

To shed a little background, Orochimaru's death was quick and painless. The moment Hiruzen had stepped into that snake's lab with a squad of Anbu members, the old man had killed him on the spot – no questions asked, not that it was necessary.

When the news of Orochimaru death was told, Hiruzen stated that his death was a result of taking an S-rank mission. The Hokage had lied and chose to keep his former student's crimes against humanity under wraps. The only ones to know of the truth were Hiruzen, all Anbu personnel, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Anko.

While he thought that the world would be a better place without Orochimaru, he didn't have the heart to expose the Snake-sannin's true face to the world and Jiraiya was in agreement.

"He's dead already. This information would have been usable if he had become a missing-nin but he didn't so what's the point. Why destroy everyone's image of Orochimaru – a smart, cunning, formidable shinobi who was feared by enemies, loved by his village, and respected by both? All it would cause is heartache to Konoha, and laughter and belittlement from other villages for producing such a deranged man."

Those words… didn't Jiraiya feel that way anymore?

Of course, Anko herself couldn't give two shits about tarnishing her teacher's reputation. If she had it her way, she would have exposed it to everyone just so others could hate him even in death, but that was just her bias view. Orochimaru had made the first few years of her Genin life like hell.

"It's not that he doesn't want to keep preserving his late and former friend's name, but other things are beginning to take priority over anything else for him. He will be meeting with his spies for quite some time from now on. I'm sure that if he didn't have more important things to do then he would have gladly joined you on this assignment."

"I see." Anko nodded her head with a serious face that she had been maintaining for a while now. "I understand, Hokage-sama, but if it isn't too much of me to ask, when do you think he'll be here?"

"Hmmm." Taking out his good ol' pipe from his pocket, he proceeded to insert it into his mouth before lighting it. Blowing out smoke, he answered, "In a few days. I'll make sure of it."

Anko nodded, somewhat crossed in whether she should take his word for it or with a grain of salt. The kunoichi walked out of the room with nothing more to say, leaving the Hokage alone.

Seemingly alone.

He didn't turn his face away from the door to the presence of his student that was just outside the window, behind the wall. Hiruzen knew he was there all along. His eyes narrowed in threat. "Are you going to come out now? Or do I have to use Konoha's most lethal jutsu on you?"

Jiraiya scoffed as he entered through the opened window with a noticeably large red scroll strapped to his back, choosing to take occupancy over the chair in front of the Hokage's desk. "Oh please, the Sennen Goroshi is overrated. I've had worse at the hands of woman in brothels." Jiraiya momentarily lost himself to perverted thoughts as he chuckled. "Oh boy, do they have a way with their hands."

All Hiruzen did was snort in amusement, followed by a small puff from his pipe. Years of knowing his student, training him under his tutelage, had accustomed the old Hokage to his student's eccentric behavior. "That may be so, but they can't ignite their finger on fire, can they?"

Jiraiya snapped out of his stupor. A flaming finger to the asshole? No thank you. "Point taken."

They both shared a chuckle in good humor. A few years had passed since they last joked around like this, mostly because Jiraiya had a spy network that he had to keep in track with on the daily, and even though not much was shared between them, it was a moment that they would savor. They both knew this scene between them wouldn't last long. After all, if Jiraiya ever visited a village, it was never for long. He was just here on business.

"All good fun aside," began the Hokage as he gathered himself into a more professional visage, his student following suite. "What took you so long to get here? If I am not mistaken, the message you sent to me said you would be here a few weeks ago. I hope you have a good reason for your delay or else you will be the one explaining to Anko why she had to wait half a month to finally depart for her mission. An important one to her, if I may add."

Hiruzen imagined that the girl would try to castrate the poor student of his, probably with a rusty kunai if she felt like using a page from the Torture and Interrogation Force. God have mercy if she ever chose to pursue that division.

"Woah, woah, woah." Jiraiya waved a hand towards his former teacher. "Hold it right there, sensei. First of all, I never said to tell her about it before I got here. And second, I do have perfectly good reason to why I was late." Seeing the old man raise a questioning eyebrow, he pulled out a book. With a cheeky smirk he simply answered, "Research~."

Recognition lit up in the eyes of the old Sarutobi. "I-Is that t-the newest-!"

"-Installment to the Icha Icha series? Yup!" The sage fanned himself with the book as he leaned on the edge of the desk with an elbow. "My latest and greatest work, if I do say so myself. After all, my inspiration did come from a kunoichi village."

The Sandaime held himself back from snatching the book from Jiraiya's taunting hands, silently cursing him from showing it while his Anbu squad was observing them from the shadows. Unlike Kakashi, who didn't mind to let people know what his taste in literature was, Hiruzen was more mindful of the people around him, and as Hokage, he didn't want to give off a bad impression. Besides, he would have plenty of time, not caring once he retired – again. All he needed to do was find a replacement.

Coughing towards his left to regain the little he lost, the Sandaime decided to get straight to business. "Whatever reason you have for your lateness can be looked over for now, we must focus on the current situation." He glanced at the scroll on his student's back. "Is that it?"

"Yeah. This is it."

"So it's finally time, huh?" he murmured. The Hokage took the pipe from his mouth and alerted his Anbu to stay put while he and Jiraiya stealthily headed to a certain spot for privacy.

Specifically speaking, the forest clearing where he had witnessed Minato and Kushina sacrifice themselves for their newborn – for Naruto in his last life and for Naruko in the present one.

X

Where did it all go wrong for this to happen? To the point where they had to use unethical means to accomplish a better future?

Although there was no solid answer anyone could give him, Hiruzen would have to say it started the moment he changed history. And then he did it again and then again. Three events he had experienced once before were changed, their outcomes completely flipped to ensure that he wouldn't have to re-live through those few dark moments of Konoha's history.

At the beginning of it all, his actions seemed like the right answer to every significant problem that plagued the village in his past. Thirteen years of advanced history had been taken with him to the past and, in his eyes, he had corrected nine years of it. A faster way to peace was accomplished, he thought.

Unfortunately, another individual thought differently. And it just happened to be the Great Toad Sage, Gamamaru.

It had been merely a few months ago since Hiruzen had learned this. What he thought was going to be a day visit from his student had turned into a short leave from Konoha to visit the oldest toad in existence.

And while it was pretty much a waste of time, he found it to be a relaxing experience. About a week was spent away from bland paperwork, boring meetings with the Konoha Council, and other less enjoyable duties. He had Gamamaru to thank for that, since the old amphibian kept slipping into a peaceful sleep after every few sentences, where he and Jiraiya found themselves reintroducing themselves at the times the toad had awoken.

By the end of the whole trip, Hiruzen came back to Konoha a little more troubled than he would've liked, especially since the trouble he was told about was something he supposedly caused.

Basically, Gamamaru had given a prediction that the Child of the Prophecy would be unable to bring about peace if he/she chose that path. The toad indirectly stated that Hiruzen was the cause for this. Apparently, the Sandaime had shifted one too many events out of place that the peace that was sought for by many was beginning to stray far from arm's reach.

Gamamaru had a good track record when it came to prophecies, so Hiruzen took the information with a grain of salt and remained silent.

Jiraiya was briefly confused during their conversation, since it seemed like they knew something he didn't. When Hiruzen revealed that he had been forcibly dragged back in time, Jiraiya had easily accepted it.

The Great Toad Sage said that there was a solution to this and that it laid in a summoning scroll located way out of bounds of the Five Great Shinobi Countries. A bit of hesitation and long winded debate later, Jiraiya had set off for the item of desire, leaving Hiruzen waiting patiently and anxiously as he resumed his role as Hokage.

"It's done sensei."

The old man blinked out of his thoughts and looked towards the middle of the area where his companion had called him from. Jiraiya was kneeling in front of a large unrolled scroll with a black-tipped ink brush in hand.

Pushing the gnawing uneasiness to the side, he met his student's eyes with his own and gave a nod. "Start the summoning."

O

Brief Summary: Sarutobi Hiruzen traveled back in time 13 years ago, a few days after the Kyuubi attack. Over a 9 year period, Hirzuen tried to fix the biggest mistakes that were done to Konoha. It turns out that his interventions did more harm than good and now he is forced to summon someone that would help make up for his mistakes.

[AN]: I don't really know what else to say. Naruto wasn't in this chapter, I apologize for that. He will appear in the next chapter.

About the harem, would you like to know who I plan to put in it?

That's all I have to say. Later.