Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Naruto

XxX

"Oh, Naruto-Kun, you're up? Don't mind me, I was just picking up in here."

"Tsunami?" Sitting up on his sleeping mat Naruto stared at the dark-haired beauty walking around the room. He hadn't seen her in years. Not since his first C-Rank as a Genin.

"Which means I'm actually back."

Looking down at his hands he clenched his fists and visibly recoiled at the lack of strength he felt from his arms. He had forgotten how weak he had been before his training trip with Jiraiya. Not that it was a surprise. Before leaving the village he had been practically starved every day because of the shopkeeper's prejudice. The old man had made sure he had what he needed to survive but it wasn't enough for a ninja in training who burned thousands of calories a day training.

"Naruto, your team already left for the bridge. You can join them if you want, I'll finish cleaning in here." Tsunami offered as she bent over to pick up one of the dirty blue shirts Naruto had left on the floor last night. Her skirt pulled tight around her backside and Naruto stared at the appealing sight.

Unlike his perverted teacher, he felt shame at perving on a sweet woman like Tsunami but it wasn't enough to force him to look away. Tsunami was a beautiful woman and he was a growing boy. Of course, he was going to look.

"I'm sure my team can handle protecting Tazuna," Naruto said flopping back onto his sleeping bag. "I think I'll get some more rest."

"And be here to stop you from getting kidnapped." Last time he had been too young to understand that if Inari hadn't stalled the two thugs Gato had sent to kidnap Tsunami she would have wished they had killed her. He wasn't the only one who could see her beauty and Gato was a bastard. No telling what the scum who worked for him would do.

It didn't matter now though. Shaking his head Naruto watched Tsunami leave the room smiling. He was here now and that meant she would be fine. Even as a Genin he had taken care of the thugs quickly. With the experience, he had now it wouldn't even be fair.

He couldn't use anything in his arsenal other than his Kage Bunshin and it's variations if he didn't want people asking questions. If he used the Rasengan or Summoning Jutsu people would ask where he learned it and then what would he say?

"Oh Jiraiya of the Sannin taught me those moves in the future and then my soul got sent back in time to change things because the future sucks."

The old man would have him in a padded room before he even finished speaking. And he couldn't change anything from there.

"I need to be out in the field." There was so much he needed to change. Sasuke leaving for starters. Orochimaru wouldn't get his friend, not again. Jiraiya had told him some of the stories about the snake Sannin and Naruto didn't like the idea of Sasuke spending a day let alone years with the freak. He couldn't let it happen again.

"Ahhhh!"

Springing from his bed as a piercing scream echoed through the house Naruto leaped out the window still barefoot. Gato's thugs had arrived and while Inari had acted to protect his mother Naruto wouldn't let it get that far. The Ronin Gato hired wouldn't even make it out the door.

Channeling chakra to his feet he stuck to the side of the house and ran sideways to the front stopping when he made it to the front door. Dropping down he waited for the footsteps inside to get close and lashed out with a kick forcing the front door to cave in.

"What the hell!"

"Watch out!"Naruto shouted as the door slammed into one thug. "Naruto Uzumaki is here!"

The second thug shoved Tsunami to the ground forcing a cry of pain from the mother. Drawing his sword he pointed it at the blonde brat who had just taken down his partner. "I'm going to cut you to ribbons brat."

"Bah," Naruto waved his hand. "You aren't going to land a single hit."

Back when he was still a fresh Genin on his first C-rank these fools couldn't touch him.

Narrowing his eyes as the mercenary charged Naruto brought his hands up. Even in the weak body, he had now a pathetic thug shouldn't even be able to get close to him.

"Die punk!" Raising his sword above his head the thug charged.

Taking advantage of one of the dozens of openings in the man's stance Naruto channeled chakra into his feet and vanished in a burst of speed.

"What the hel-urrgg!" Gasping as pain erupted from his stomach the samurai dropped to his knees his sword clattering to the ground at his side.

"No way!"

Watching from behind the corner Inari stared in awe at the blonde Ninja who had shouted at him the night before. "I didn't even see him move."

One second he was in the door and in a blink of an eye he was punching the samurai. "How can someone move that fast?"

"Hey, Inari," Naruto sidestepped the thugs falling body and picked up the sword on lying on the ground. Walking over to Tsunami he cut the ropes binding her hands together. "Tie these guys up for me, okay? The boss should have made it to the bridge by now and he will need my chakra."

"What?"

Waving the 'Naruto' standing in the room exploded in a cloud of smoke leaving Inari gaping at the empty space where the ninja was just standing.

"How'd he do that?"

XxX

"Good, Tsunami's safe." Hiding in the trees that overlooked the bridge Naruto opened his eyes as the memory from his Shadow Clone finished. It was a risk leaving behind a Clone to fight the thugs but he had to save Sasuke. Haku wouldn't want to kill Sasuke, but there was no telling what would happen if he didn't show up. Zabuza could order Haku to help him fight Kakashi-Sensei and even if he didn't want to, Haku won't hesitate to finish Sasuke to help his master.

"Here we go." Jumping from the tree Naruto landed on the railing of the bridge and ran forward into the mist a coating of chakra on the bottom of his sandals keeping his footsteps silent.

Reaching into the pouch strapped to his back he pulled the small roll of Explosive tags he took from Kakashi-Sensei's pack with his left hand and with his right he pulled three Kunai from his holster. Wrapping one explosive tag to the hilts of his kunai he grinned as the ice dome came into view. This time things were going to go a little different.

"Sorry, Haku." Throwing all three knives he watched as the tags began to burn.

XxX

Gritting his teeth Sasuke pulled another pair of Senbon from his arm. The wounds stung but again Zabuza's masked partner had purposely missed anything lethal.

"I am being toyed with."

Before the Ice dome had formed he could have fought the masked ninja on even grounds, maybe he wouldn't have won but he could have pushed the fight to a standstill. But with the Ice technique and his opponents enhanced speed within it he shouldn't still be alive. If it was anyone else behind that mask the Uchiha clan would have been ended.

"Instead I'm being made a fool of." Sasuke didn't want to die. There were still things he had to do in life. He still needed to kill Itachi and make sure the legacy of the Uchiha was no longer stained by the existence of his brother.

However, having an enemy stronger than him continuously spare his life was humiliating. The blood of Konoha's strongest clan flowed through his veins. "I do not need the mercy of an enemy."

He was an Uchiha. The elite of the elite.

"Please, surrender. I do not wish to hurt you."

"Sasuke! Cover your eyes!"

Reacting on instinct before it even processed that he was following the orders of the 'dead last' Sasuke brought his arms up shielding his eyes with his forearms.

XxX

"How?"

Underneath his mask, Kakashi smiled at the dumbfounded look on Zabuza's face as three explosions rocked the bridge and small shards of ice rained down on them.

"Your sidekick may have been able to beat Sasuke alone, Zabuza. But my team knows what you can't do alone, you do together." Holding up his Kunai as Zazuba hefted his massive sword into the air Kakashi's right eye closed as his left shined red in the mist. "Your divide and conquer method will be what defeats you."

"Tch." Zabuza grunted, "You're brats are still going to lose, Hatake. Together, separate, it doesn't matter. Haku won't fail me."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Kakashi glanced past Zabuza to where his students were fighting for their lives. Sasuke was rookie of the year, the strongest Genin in the village. And Naruto was the most unpredictable ninja in the Leaf village. "I'll leave it to them."

Zabuza was who he had to beat. Their first encounter had shown that even with teamwork Sasuke and Naruto would not be able to defeat the Hidden Mist Swordsmen.

Forcing him to release the Water Prison Jutsu was one thing, actually beating him was another. No matter Sasuke's talent or Naruto's drive they were still Genin and Zabuza was a Jonin.

XxX

"So, you've come to die with your friend?" Hake sent three senbon at his blonde friend careful not to aim for anywhere vital. He didn't want to hurt either leaf ninja but Zabuza-sama had given him a mission.

Rolling out of the way Naruto dodged the sharp sticks of metal and drew two kunai from his holster and sent them at the closest ice mirror. He didn't know which mirror Haku was in, "So I'll just have to destroy them all!"

Jumping from one mirror to the next Haku's eyes narrowed behind his hunter-nin mask as another of his constructs was blown to pieces. Naruto was proving smarter than he had first thought.

"Naruto, at least you didn't come inside." Flicking through hand signs as fast as he could Sasuke sucked in a deep breath as his fingers formed the last seal needed for his Jutsu.

"Tora!" Bringing the seal to his lips he released his breath.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Expelling a large ball of flames from his mouth Sasuke watched as it flew towards what he hoped was the masked ninja. Without a way of telling which mirror held the real Haku and not a reflection, he was firing blindly.

Outside the dome, Naruto saw the flames between the mirrors and pulled another kunai from his holster. The flames would do a thing to Haku's mirrors but they were a good distraction for him to prepare another exploding tag.

"Please, stop doing that."

Freezing as cold metal pressed against his neck Naruto glanced over his shoulder and met the painted eyes of Haku's mask.

"Tell your friend to stop fighting," Haku's voice was muffled slightly but Naruto heard him clearly. "Or I'll kill you."

"No." Twisting his head Naruto impaled his neck on the Senbon shocking Haku.

"Why?" Haku's unasked question was answered as the 'Naruto' he held hostage exploded sending him flying across the bridge. Hitting the ground yards away he slid to a stop nearly halfway across the bridge, his robes burning and mask cracked revealing his right eye.

"A Shadow Clone with an explosive tag in its jacket." Sasuke scoffed as he walked out of the ice dome. Bleeding from dozens of cuts on his arms, legs, and face he looked on the bad side of horrible but was still grinning. "I didn't think you had a plan like that in you, loser."

It was said as a joke but Sasuke was watching Naruto closely. The knucklehead had never shown planning on that level before. He had been the one to come up with the Shadow Clone demon shuriken plan, not Naruto. And in the academy all his teammate did was charge in fist flying. Naruto never seemed to plan during his spars, he was always thinking on his feet.

So what had changed?

"Bah, shut up, Sasuke. I got you out of the ice palace didn't I?" Naruto grinned thumping his chest with his thumb. "Now, let's kick this guys ass and go help Kakashi-sensei."

"Not that Kakashi-Sensei needs help." Back when he was a fresh Genin, Naruto knew his teacher was a strong fighter. But it hadn't been until he left with Jiraiya that he really learned just how powerful Kakashi-Sensei was. Travelling around the elemental nations and hearing the rumors that strangers told about his sensei had been eye-opening, to say the least. People said Kakashi-sensei could take down a whole nation on his own.

Naruto didn't think that was true but the strength you had to have to even start rumors like that would have to be incredible. So there was no way Kakashi would lose to Zabuza.

"But Sakura," If the Hidden Mist swordsmen went after his teammate she would last two seconds before he cut her in half.

"Naruto!" Sasuke snapped leaping in front of his teammate and using a kunai to knock half a dozen senbons out of the air. "What is that idiot doing?"

One second he had the enemy on the ropes and the next he was staring into space like a moron. Probably celebrating about how 'cool' he looked in his head. The idiot.

Blinking Naruto shook his head and drew a kunai of his own. "I'm ready to go, Sasuke. You're the one who looks tired."

"What are you talking about, loser?"

"You're eyes," Naruto pointed a finger at Sasuke's eyes. "They're all red."

Bringing his Kunai up to his eyes Sasuke stared at the reflection looking back at him. "My Sharingan."

That was how he could see the senbon and block them. His eyes had evolved. "I can see now."

Grabbing Naruto by the shoulders he jumped to the side dragging the blonde with him as another volley of senbon dug into the ground where they were previously standing.

"Ha!" Mocking laughter from the end of the bridge grabbed all the ninja's attention halting their fights. "So this is what the great Demon of the Mist is capable of? Losing to a bunch of kids, and a one-eyed handicap. How pathetic."

"Gato." Glaring at the short businessman Naruto stepped away from Sasuke his knuckles turning white around the hilt of his kunai. This guy was the cause of all the pain the people of Wave had been forced to suffer through.

"Gato, what are you doing here?" Zabuza asked jumping away from Kakashi to stand closer to Haku. He didn't like what was happening. Behind Gato was a small army of hired thugs all grinning and wielding weapons. "I told you I would come find you when the job was done."

Gato tapped his cane on the bridge smirking. "I paid you more than all these guys behind me, demon. And yet you failed once and now you're failing again."

The businessman glasses glinted in the morning sunlight hiding the satisfied look in his eyes. "So, I decided, screw your payment. I'll have my boys kill all of you so called powerful 'ninja' and then the bridge builder and his family."

"I see," Turning his back completely to the Leaf ninja Zabuza lifted his sword letting it rest on his shoulders and neck. "Kakashi, it looks like it's your lucky day. Our fight is over and you get to live."

"How kind of you." Kakashi eye smiled and pulled his forehead protector down to cover his Sharingan. "Sasuke, Naruto, let's go."

"What!" Sasuke growled in anger.

Were they just going to leave? He had his Sharingan now. Those thugs were flies to him, and with his eyes, the hunter-nin would wish he hadn't shown mercy to an Uchiha.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi barked at his Genin. "We're leaving. Our job is to protect the bridge builder and he is in danger the longer we remain here."

"Tch," Sasuke scoffed. "Come on, Naruto."

"Right." Naruto nodded. Zabuza and Haku could handle Gato and his hired swords. Without another ninja under his employee, the midget jerk didn't stand a chance.

Running back to Kakashi Naruto glanced at Sasuke who was glaring at the air in front of them with his Sharingan. He understood is teammates frustration, if he had been knocked around by Haku he would want payback as well. But they were Shinobi and the mission came before personal feelings. "And I'm happy Haku will live."

His friend may have been the enemy but Haku was also the first friend he had ever lost. Even if they only knew each other for a few hours it was still a horrible feeling, watching someone you called a friend die.

"Sasuke!"

"Sakura, shh." Kakashi hissed at the only kunoichi on team 7. "Let's not draw any more attention to our little group."

Forming the Tiger seal the copy ninja created a single Shadow clone next to him. "Tazuna, my clone is going to carry you back to your home. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, don't slow down until we get back to the house."

"Why sensei?" Sakura asked as Tazuna squawked being lifted on Clone Kakashi's back. His indignation only lasted for a few seconds before Team 7 began running. "The bad guys are fighting against each other now."

"Yes, they are. But we don't know what's going to happen when their fight is over. The house will be more easily defendable than being out in the open." Kakashi explained as they reached the end of the bridge and jumped into the trees hopping through the branches.

"Zabuza will win." Kakashi looked over his shoulder as the bridge vanished behind the leaves. "But what will he do after?"

Without Gato paying him the demon of the Mist had no reason to come after the bridge builder other than pride. As a missing-nin the swordsman lived off mission payments, having rumors circulating that he couldn't complete a mission would make employers wary of hiring him. Even with the man's terrifying reputation.

"All we can do no is wait."

XxX

"Kakashi-Sensei are you sure it's safe?" Sakura twisted her hands nervously together as the Naruto and Sasuke stretched in the living room. "Maybe we should wait another day, just in case Zabuza tries to attack."

Sighing Kakashi flipped to the next page in his book. He understood Sakura's fear, she was just a Genin and should have never been on an A-Rank mission fighting against opponents like Zabuza. "But does she have to ask the same question over and over?"

She was a kunoichi and acting scared in front of their clients was not what a ninja did.

"If they were going to attack it would have been yesterday after their battle on the bridge. I'm sure they've left the country by now."

"But just in case." Turning to the loudest of his Genin, Kakashi lowered his book, his one visible eye turning up in a smile. "Naruto, stay here and protect Tazuna's family. In case someone comes after Tsunami and Inari."

Kakashi had expected shouts of anger and cries of disbelief from Naruto detailing the many reasons as to why he shouldn't be left behind and how he was the strongest so he should be protecting the client.

What he didn't expect was a silent nod and his knucklehead student to take a seat on the couch without so much as a word.

"Strange." Naruto was being unusually quiet. "I'll have to talk to him when the mission is over."

First Chapter of my Time Travel Naruto fanfic. Let me know what you think so far.

For now, the story will stay T-rated but that will change in later chapters. So leave your choice for which girl or girls you want to see Naruto with.

Thanks for reading and See you next time!