Plot Bunny goes hop, creating a rift in the time-space continuum and allowing the soul of Uzumaki Naruto to return to his twelve year old body. Plot Bunny is pretty amazing don't you think?

Kakashi knelt contemplatively as the dust settled around him. 'This is Naruto?' He thought. 'This can't be Naruto.. Naruto isn't this powerful.'

Before he could muse further, he felt a tremor in the air behind him. Moving on instinct, the former ANBU Captain flashed to the side with all his considerable speed, narrowly evading what would have been a fatal blow. This couldn't be Naruto. Naruto wasn't this fast, nor was he this strong. Sure he was the Fourth Hokage's son, but the boy wasn't even a genin yet.

"Kakashi sensei!" Naruto's voice sang jovially. "Where are you?"

Kakashi closed his eyes to affirm his resolve and leapt down from the tree that he'd escaped to. While it was true that Shinobi were constantly bringing about death, they were still human. Even a man like him, who had seen and been a part of countless horrors as an Assassin and Captain of the ANBU, could place value on the beautiful and mysterious thing that is life. The trees were casualties he could prevent. If he left the tree, then it wouldn't be subject to harm.

Just as he landed on the grass, an explosive boom thundered from behind; the tree that had harbored him splintered into millions of pieces as Naruto clipped it with his fist.

Kakashi felt a sudden irrational stroke of fear which overrode his usual reservation. He was having trouble in even steeling his nerves to turn to face what he knew should be one of the weakest prospective genin from among the three. With Sasuke buried up to his head in the earth and Sakura laying unconscious from his Illusion Jutsu, Naruto had suddenly become stronger, more powerful than all previous indicators had made the boy out to be.

Naruto chuckled, his child's voice filled with eagerness as he spoke in very soft tones. "Kaakashi-senseii~"

Kakashi shivered. The voice was coming from right next to his ear.

"Give me the bells.." Naruto giggled. "Or else."

Suddenly, all Kakashi's fears vanished. Here he was, one of the most powerful and skilled Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village, being cowed by a child of no more than twelve. It made him feel like a pathetic loser being pushed around by some third-rate bully. Kakashi's fists clenched tightly as he felt his pride take a near-lethal blow, and he spun on his feet, a Jutsu already prepared. Out of the earth, several spikes of lethally sharp rocks punctured the air.

"Oops, almost got me!~" Naruto sang as he wheeled up into the air. He dodged several lances of lightning and caught a flurry of very efficiently thrown kunai. After evading all the attacks successfully, the boy landed on one of the many sharp spikes of earth that Kakashi had produced - spikes which should have pierced him from toe to head. Even without his Sharingan, Kakashi could practically see the pool of Chakra under Naruto's feet that permitted him to perform such a feat. The level of Chakra control that the boy was exhibiting was nothing short of insane.

Naruto dropped all the kunai that he'd caught to the ground, and the air changed.

Kakashi's fears instantaneously resurfaced. An instinctual part of him, the part which told him to fight or flee, was shouting loudly at him to make good on the latter and get as far away as he could.

Noticing the tension he was causing, Naruto smiled. Kakashi almost collapsed in relief as the oppressive air suddenly lessened. As he was about to surrender his bells, Naruto spoke, smile still plastered on his face. "Kakashi-sensei. You weren't trying to kill me were you?"

Kakashi remained unmoved and somehow managed to maintain his composure. "W-what-" He coughed, pretending to clear his throat to cover for his stutter. "What makes you think that?"

"Well.." Naruto put a finger to his chin. Then, before Kakashi even had time to register any movement, he was plowed headfirst into a faceful of dirt. "Those spikes, those A-rank lightning jutsus and the kunai that you were throwing at my vitals seemed like they were meant to.. you know.. kill me. Unless I'm wrong, and you thought I could survive being put on a spike with kunais stuck in my head and heart of course." Kakashi began to struggle, but to no avail. The hand on his neck kept his face in the dirt and the foot on his hand kept him from making any hand seals. The fear which he'd felt earlier had been supplanted by a morbid certainty. He was going to die. Kakashi grunted as he tried and failed to free himself from the hands that were pinning him down. Naruto continued to speak as if unaware of his adversary's movements. "I mean sure you could claim that you performed all of those lethal techniques with the expectation that I'd somehow survive, but if you really think about it, even the best would have to at least take several arcs of those lightning lances. The average Chuunin would find themselves hard-pressed to survive such a combination, much less a student fresh from the academy."

Suddenly, the boy released him. This time, Kakashi did not have to fake his cough. Spluttering for breath, the Jonin quickly unveiled his Sharingan and leapt as far away as he could.

The person he was facing couldn't be Naruto. No child could be that powerful. He was half-tempted to believe that it was the Nine-tails which gave Naruto his sudden influx of power, but he ruled out that possibility almost instantly. He hadn't sensed any of the volatile substance of the Nine-tail's Chakra being used. The earlier oppressive atmosphere had consisted entirely of natural Killing Intent. Further, there was no fathomable universe in which the current Naruto could have accessed the Nine-tails' power without losing his mind to the malicious creature inside him. It was impossible, at least not with what he'd seen of Naruto for the duration of the boy's academic tenure. In fact, he'd watched Naruto training for the Academy exam only a few days ago.

It wasn't that Kakashi was harsh or condescending, but Naruto had the worst Chakra control he'd ever seen of any human being, no doubt due to his large coils. Naruto also wasn't very smart. He was clever, but being clever and being intelligent are not the same.

It was almost as if the Naruto he was facing now and the Naruto he faced yesterday were two different people.

Kakashi twisted around in grim determination as the epiphany hit him full force. Of course. The truth had been in front of him the whole time. The person he was facing wasn't Naruto. The real Naruto had been replaced, either kidnapped or taken away, and was now supplanted by an incredibly powerful imposter.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Kakashi distantly heard someone shout something like 'Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

Kakashi watched with horror as the forestry which surrounded him was annihilated. Hundreds of trees flew up into the sky, their roots violently torn from the earth by the powerful gale, and at the calm center of the storm of wind, Kakashi stood with a single grim purpose in mind.

The visage of Namikaze Minato's blonde child landed lightly in front of him, palms open. "Bells here. Last chance."

"It seems I've been outmatched." Kakashi laughed and swayed the bells in his hand, causing them to jingle. "Ok. I will give you the bells, but you'll have to answer one very important question."

Naruto nodded confidently as if he already knew the answer of whatever question was going to be thrown his way. "The answer is teamw-"

"Ah-ah." Kakashi interrupted. "That's not what I'm asking, though it seems you already know the in's and out's of my test. No. What I want to ask you is something else entirely."

Naruto tilted his head and frowned as Kakashi began walking toward him. "So what's the question?"

Kakashi took his last step and stopped to a standstill directly in front of Naruto, his Sharingan blazing a furious red. "What did you do to the real Naruto?"

There was a moment of silence as both the child and the twenty-four year old man stared into each other's eyes. Kakashi tried briefly to put the person in front of him into an Illusion with his Sharingan and, to no surprise, he failed.

The statuesque moment passed and Naruto grinned, his emotions inscrutable. "So." The figure of the boy began. "You've noticed."

Kakashi gazed out to survey the field around him before shrugging in response. "How could I not? You don't really expect me to believe that the real Naruto somehow learned to have suddenly become a Shinobi of S-ranked prowess overnight do you?"

"No." The boy figure shook his head. "I suppose not. I'm also much too eloquent to be the real Naruto aren't I?"

"Nailed it in the head." Kakashi replied. He was confused. If this were an infiltrator, what was his purpose? Whoever the person was, it was highly unlikely that he (or she) had taken Naruto's place just to crush and humiliate the Hidden Leaf's renowned Copy-nin. "I ask again. Where is the real Naruto?"

The figure of the child slowly reached out and took the bells from Kakashi's unmoving hands. "I guess I kind of did want you to realize the truth, Hatake Kakashi. I could have continued playing the role of the stupid brat, but that's over and done now. I'm glad." The figure laughed lightly. "In six months, the Hidden Leaf will face an invasion. The last Uchiha, the one that is currently being put under your supervision, will be taken from the village." The boy figure smiled a cryptic smile before turning to walk away. "And the Third Hokage will be killed. And so, I will see you again in six months, Hatake Kakashi. For now, I have some important places to be and things to change. It's been nice speaking to you."

Fighting his instinctual fear and the heavy aura of Killing Intent leaking from the boy, Kakashi quashed his jittering nerves and somehow managed to think despite the voice in his mind which kept screaming at him to run. The figure might as well have made a direct threat against the village. If this enemy thought that he could scare the Leaf's copy-nin into letting him walk away merely with his Killing Intent, he was in for a surprise. Hatake Kakashi hadn't been one of the Leaf's best Assassins for nothing. He was not to be underestimated. He would not be scared. A wave of resolve poured from his heart and, for a moment, Kakashi's mind and body overrode his KI-induced paralysis.

As the figure of Naruto turned his back to the former ANBU assassin, Kakashi flashed forward with as much speed as he could muster. His Chakra coils strained as he unlocked the first of the Eight Gates. If there was anything he'd learned from their exchange, it was that the imposter was insanely powerful, enough so that he thought that turning a back to the legendary copy-nin wasn't a risk in and of itself. What scared Kakashi was that the imposter's conceit was almost definitely justified. He would have only one chance. If he could eliminate this threat early, perhaps he could prevent the promises that had been made. He would protect the Third and the village.

There was a small cry of surprise and pain as he plunged his lightning-filled hands through the boy figure's back, shattering the target's spine. His hand stopped clean on the other side of his target's body. If his target had a heart, it had no doubt been decimated by the superheated bolts that crackled in Kakashi's palm. It was a perfect hit. He'd done it.

The boy figure slumped over, dying where he stood. Kakashi withdrew his bloodied hand, allowing the corpse to fall to the floor; he collapsed on his knees as a wave of relief washed through his heart. Now they needed to find the real Naruto. First he'd have to alert the Hokage of the situation. He would take Sasuke under his wing regardless of today's test results. It would be necessary to protect the last Uchiha from the promised abduction. He'd already eliminated one target - perhaps even the most powerful one, but who knew how many more there might be? Who exactly was it that was going to invade the Hidden Leaf? Who were the enemy and how in the world were they going to kill the Third Hokage? The thought frightened him. Just how strong was the enemy to be able to make such a promise so far in advance? In hindsight, he should have simply incapacitated Naruto's imposter. The Yamanaka interrogators could probably have drawn some answers from the boy. The real Naruto's current whereabouts in particular was now something that they would have to hand over to the sensor-nin. Kakashi prayed that they'd find him. Naruto had to be safe.

Kakashi knelt by the body of his recent kill. Killing his target had probably been the right choice. It was uncertain how someone so powerful would have dealt with a non-lethal blow. There were so many things that could have gone wrong. He could have failed, and the monstrous target that he'd just killed could have turned his powers against the village. In hindsight, Kakashi was glad that his fear had driven him to forgo the more merciful path.

He stared expectantly at the child's face, framed by a mess of blonde hair. Something wasn't right. Kakashi ran his finger's across the corpse's youthful cheeks, and his heart nearly stopped. All his thoughts on the village and promised threats scattered into the wind as he beheld the boy laying in front of him.

"No." He muttered under his breath. "It can't be.." The Jonin trembled in horror as a red coat of Chakra surrounded the child figure before him.

Slowly, he lifted the orange coat, exposing the boy figure's belly to the world. On that belly, he saw the traces of the Fourth's Eight Trigram seal fade into nothingness. Kakashi's vision blurred. He had to be dreaming. Any time now, the body was going to disappear in a puff of smoke. Whatever transformation technique that the enemy had used to make themselves look like Naruto would dispel. The corpse's real identity would be revealed.

Kakashi gave two short chuckling breaths. His voice cracked as he spoke to himself. "This is not Naruto. This can't be. All the evidence pointed to that fact. All the evidence.."

He trailed off. Even as he denied his conclusion, Kakashi could not help but hold the boy's body close. He could not help but stare into the familiar blonde hair and lifeless blue eyes.

"I killed him." Kakashi whispered in horror to himself. He then addressed his dead mentor. "I killed your son.."

He knelt there with the corpse sitting in front of him, not knowing what to do.

On the other side of the clearing of trees and battered forestry, a thirteen year old pinkette by the name of Haruno Sakura woke from her Illusion. The girl was instantly made aware of her teammate's shouts for help and, after a brief search, discovered a head sticking out of the ground. Sakura screamed.

For his part, the head waited patiently for the girl to regain her sensibilities before chiding her angrily. After receiving a series of harsh admonishments, Sakura moved to dig the indignant Uchiha Sasuke up from the earth. The dark-haired Uchiha dusted himself off.

"You're useless, you know that?"

Sakura flinched and withheld her usual doting. The horrible Illusion that the copy-nin had subjected her to still weighed on her nerves, and Sasuke seemed more irritable than usual. The two began searching for their Jonin-mentor. It still wasn't noon yet. The test was still on. They followed the trail of destruction. The training ground had been completely unearthed. Trees were scattered everywhere. Whatever could perform such a feat must've been terrifying.

Sakura gulped, forcing down the lump in her throat. "What do you think could have done this?"

Sasuke sighed. Sakura had been unconscious, so she hadn't been there to see Naruto's exchanges with their prospective Jonin-mentor. "It's Naruto."

Sakura laughed nervously. "That's impossible."

Ignoring the girl, Sasuke's eyes spotted their target from among a pile of splintered trees and shrubbery. He paused to point at the unusual sight before him. "Oy. Sakura."

Sakura's eyes widened. Her hands went up to her mouth to stifle a scream, causing only a muffled gasp to draw forth from her vocal chords.

"He's killed Naruto." Sasuke stated calmly.

Slowly and warily, they stopped a small distance from the scene. Sakura was pinching herself in the wrist as Sasuke tried to analyze the situation. Was this an Illusion?

Suddenly, the Jonin called out loudly in a strange voice, causing both Academy graduates to jump. "The test is over. "

Sasuke smirked and laid a restraining hand on Sakura to keep her from making any stupid moves. The test couldn't be over. It wasn't even noon yet. He wouldn't fall for such an obvious trap.

"Do you hear me? I've failed you. Go find another Jonin to test you."

Sakura looked to Sasuke, waiting for his command. Sasuke merely shook his head and put a finger to his lips. "It's a trap." He whispered.

Then, as sudden as when he'd first spoken, Hatake Kakashi laughed. It was a strange sound coming from a man who had presented himself as an aloof and reserved individual. Not only was the laugh strange, it was maniacal. It was the crazed cackling of a man losing his grip on his sanity, and it sent shivers of fear into Sakura's heart. With large eyes, Sakura gave another pleading look at Sasuke who let his eyelids fall shut as he slowed his breathing.

Then, the Uchiha opened his eyes to glare at her in disgust, releasing his grip on her arm. "Go." He said.

Sakura felt a pang in her heart at the treatment, but remained composed. She stepped out into the clearing. Kakashi was still laughing, and it confused her. She was scared. That was Naruto's corpse she was seeing. Or was it? Tentatively, she approached the Jonin, ignoring her hammering heart as she got a better look at the face of the boy which laid before the silver-haired man.

The sight was too horrifying for her emotions to register correctly. Sakura stood numbly in place. Kakashi had stopped laughing and now had his single eye staring at the pink-haired child-soldier-to-be. He waited expectantly as Sakura's eyes remained glued on Naruto's figure. "You killed him." She stated in a flat voice. "You killed Naruto."

Kakashi turned away. The guilt was almost unbearable. He'd failed his mentor, the Fourth Hokage. The man had been as close a father to him as any could be since the death of his real father. Namikaze Minato had taught him, raised him, cared for him, and this was how he'd paid back his greatest benefactor. He'd killed the man's son. The boy who a small part of him had always felt compelled to help, if only out of sheer gratitude to the Fourth. He'd always find some excuse to not do so. He was fourteen. Too young and unqualified to raise a child. He was a Shinobi, not a caretaker. Then, when he'd become an adult, he'd watch from afar as the boy walked through the village alone. None deigned to talk to the desolate child. Naruto had needed a companion. How Kakashi had wanted to give the boy the company that he'd needed. There were many instances where he'd be on the brink of approaching the kid, but would stop himself at the last moment. Years of anti-social behavior had made it hard for him to know how to truly communicate with others. He had no idea how to deal with emotions and children. He didn't know what to say, and he was afraid of messing up. Besides, he didn't share any interests with the kid. All he knew how to do was kill. He'd wait for Naruto to get older and to understand certain concepts. Besides, the Third was there for him. The companionship of Hatake Kakashi wasn't necessary.
And so the years whittled away. Finally, after nearly thirteen years, he had a chance to truly bond with his mentor's son, like he'd always hoped. The boy was learning the ways of Shinobi, something which Kakashi could dish out in spades. He'd hoped for this chance to get close to his mentor's son, even if he hadn't really known it before. The loss overwhelmed him, bringing all his hopes to the forefront of his being. He'd ended up killing the boy on some stupid suspicion. Maybe he should have asked more questions. Maybe there was an explanation to the boy's sudden abilities. He'd never know now. He'd acted too quickly and now Naruto was dead.

Kakashi grieved. The tears which stung at his eyes and down his face-mask fell unnoticed as he devolved further into his thoughts. He didn't deserve his Sharingan. He didn't deserve Namikaze Minato's patience, nor the life that Obito had given him. He didn't deserve to be a Shinobi.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked timidly.

"I don't deserve to live."

"What?"

Kakashi tore his headband off his forehead and tossed it to the ground. He was no ninja, and he needed to stop playing at being one. Hells he wasn't even human. Hatake Kakashi was an ungrateful, cynical monster, a product of the Shinobi world in which he'd been raised. Such a monster should not exist in the world.

"Sakura." Sakura jumped at the voice which sounded suddenly from behind her. It was only Sasuke.

Suddenly, a small band of ANBU appeared on the scene. A few them plowed into Kakashi's body, forcing him down in a restraining hold. Kakashi made no move to resist and allowed the Shinobi to crush his face into the dirt for the second time that day.

The ANBU paused. To have subdued the copy-nin so easily was odd. They had come expecting a difficult fight, thinking to hold off the former ANBU captain until further reinforcements arrived or until they subdued him with their superior numbers.

One of the ANBU, a tiger-masked woman, turned to the children. "Your test is over. Go home."

"No." Sasuke replied. "I want to know what's going on. What's going to happen to us? What about my genin promotion? Who's going to teach me now?"

Sakura examined her crush with shock. Naruto had just been killed and all he could think about was his promotion?!

The air suddenly became menacing as all the ANBU turned as one toward the Uchiha. The tiger masked woman spoke again, her voice flat and toneless. "I'm afraid such details are not under our area of supervision. I suggest you speak to the Hokage or the Civilian Council, but for now, you are to leave. You have no choice in the matter."

The usually cocksure teen took an unconscious step back from the aura of hostility. Sakura, looking to alleviate the tension, bowed. "Sorry for bothering you. We will leave." She said in a trembling voice. "Naruto was.." She paused, unsure of what Naruto was. "He was someone we never thought would leave us. He was so happy and annoying and cheerful and.." The girl sobbed. "I didn't think he would.. that he would.. I-"

The ANBU woman stared mutedly at the spluttering girl. "This is what being a Shinobi means, girl. You will have to encounter death. The death of your allies, your friends and those around you. It is inevitable."

Sakura shook her head as tears dripped numbly from her eyes.

"In any case," The woman continued, looking with pity on the girl. "You should report to the Hokage."

"You told us to go home." Sasuke retorted.

"Yes. I thought it fair to expect that you'd go straight to the Hokage regardless of where we told you to go, Uchiha brat."

Sasuke let his eyes go shut as he calmed himself. These were ANBU. As of right now, they were many magnitudes better than he was. There was no use antagonizing them. It also gave him comfort to know that the only reason they dared insult him was the masks that covered their identities. "Hn. Let's go Sakura."

"Ok." Sakura said quietly. She gave the scene one last look. Kakashi had already been whisked away, and Naruto's body was nowhere to be seen. Only the tiger-masked ANBU remained.

Yugao watched grimly as the pink-haired girl and the last Uchiha left the scene. She sympathized with the girl. Once upon a time, she'd been in the same position. The tragedy of death was something a Shinobi needed to constantly cope with. It was something she herself had experienced many times in the past. A part of her wished that the girl wouldn't have to go through the same. She wished the world weren't so cruel. If only everyone could all just live peacefully with each other and be happy. Why?

Why did Kakashi do it? She didn't understand. The captain she'd respected was not someone who would betray his own village. She couldn't think of a reason. Kakashi had killed the son of the Fourth, the boy for which he'd left presents for on occasion. When the rest of the village ignored or shunned the Jinchuuriki of the Nine-tails, Kakashi was one of the few who gave to the boy. She'd seen him buy the child a blue nightcap and a teddy and had even thought the gesture to be uncharacteristically cute. He'd obviously cared for the child. So why? Kakashi had killed the boy and allowed himself to be captured. His position was one which spelled almost certain death. Killing the Nine-tails' Jinchuuriki was a crime on par with murdering the Hokage. Kakashi had condemned himself with high treason.

He gained nothing from killing Uzumaki Naruto.

Why?!

If I ever get a pet rabbit, I'm going to name it Plot Bunny. And though I'm sure there are other bunnies who already have that name, I think the Plot Bunnies wouldn't mind having more bunnies join their rank. If I were a Plot Bunny, I'd welcome a brethren into the fold. We can all be Plot Bunnies together!
On an unrelated note, I wanted to see a time-travel fic in which Naruto is killed, so voila. Here it is. I give all the credit to Plot Bunny, who I do not yet own. R&R please.~