Title: Changing the Past
Rating: T for minor language and some violence
Word Count: 5,474
Dedication: To the FF user lionheart555, the original mastermind of this particular plot-line, for letting me adopt his old fanfic "Changing the Past". Thank you very much, Lion :)
Description: They see no future. So they look to the past, seeking to rewrite history. Time-travel.
Author's Ramble: WHOA. I adopted a fanfic. I absolutely loved Lion's original story. The concept of it was great. However, it hadn't been updated in four years. So I asked to adopt it! And he kindly gave me permission. Thank you for that, Lion! Also, do not flame me. I asked permission to rewrite/continue the original story. So your flames will be ignored and reported. The last thing I will say is - happy reading guys!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Never have, never will. I also don't own the idea and plot-line of this fic. It was originally by lionheart555, who has kindly let me adopt it.
Important note: Translations for jutsu are at the end.
Chapter 1: The Final Battle
The two men sat side by side on the small log. It lay at the very top of the hill where below them, the sounds of fighting and explosions filled the otherwise peaceful clearing. Everything on the ground past the foot of the hill was in chaos. Fire jutsu had burned away trees and left nothing but charred stumps while lightning and earth jutsu scorched and mutilated the land. In between all the ruin and havoc, dead bodies littered the battleground, staining the grass with a sticky red that pooled and created an ever-flowing river of blood.
Of the two young men that sat, the one with the scar over his eye and his hair pulled back was the first who spoke.
"Hokage-sama," He began. "I don't see how much longer we can keep fighting. Even with the reinforcements from Suna and Taki, Kumo and Iwa still greatly outnumber us. And Kabuto is killing our best men left and right." He lazily swiveled his head to look at the blonde man beside him. "We need to do something. Now."
The blonde man tilted his head back and looked into the bright blue sky, inhaling deeply. On the outside he appeared calm and relaxed. But within, a terrible sadness had welled up and filled his heart. Too many of his precious people had died because of his inability to save them.
"Kakashi-sensei, Ero-Sennin, Tsunade-baachan…everyone…" He closed his eyes briefly in a blink, forcing the tears to stay inside. "They're gone. How did it happen, Shikamaru? Tell me!"
Shikamaru sighed and looked down at his lap, where his fingers played around with an unlit cigarette. He was contemplating whether or not lighting it would be a good idea. But with the question that his longtime friend and Hokage had asked him, he was thinking that now was a good time to break out the lighter.
How troublesome. He thought as he clicked the lighter on and brought the cigarette to his lips. If Temari saw him she'd whack him to death with that stupid fan of hers. But he really needed this smoke.
He sympathized greatly with Naruto. He had lost nearly all of his precious people to this stupid war; Ino, Chouji, his mom and dad...and many other people close to him. Many of them were killed during the surprise sound invasion three years previously. Asuma, however, had been killed long before that by the Akatsuki member Hidan. Yes, he knew very well how painful losing those close to the heart was.
He took a long drag on the cigarette before taking it out of his mouth. "Listen, Naruto." Shikamaru said in his usual lazy tone but with an edge of seriousness to it. "Right now, everybody is counting on you. They're all down there fighting to give us a chance to develop a plan. This is no time to be thinking about the past. The present is what's important right now."
Naruto speedily tossed a kunai into the ground. It imbedded itself in the dirt, nothing but the handle visible. "Dammit, Shikamaru! I know that!" He took a deep breath and slouched over his legs. "Just give me some time. A few minutes at least. I need to think."
Shikamaru groaned and stood up unhappily. He took another drag before tossing the cigarette on the ground and stomping on it to snuff it out. "Forgive me, Hokage-sama, but this is necessary."
Naruto looked up just in time to see Shikamaru's hand swing through the air and hit him across the face. It wasn't enough to really injure him, but it still stung and there was surely a red spot where the hand landed. Naruto blinked and stared blankly up at Shikamaru, who loomed over him with a hard look on his face.
"I'm sorry, Naruto. But you really need to wake up." Shikamaru said, all lingering laziness gone from his voice. "The time of 'thinking' is over. We need to take action. I know we've lost a lot of friends, and family, to this war. But right now we need to act like shinobi. We need to fight to keep Konoha alive and avenge the deaths of all those who died to protect her." Shikamaru stood up straighter. "And as Hokage, you need to snap out of it and start acting like the leader you're supposed to be."
When Naruto started to sit up straight, Shikamaru could immediately tell that something troublesome was going to happen. He resisted the urge to groan and gazed lazily back at Naruto as he blinked.
"Shikamaru…" Naruto said slowly.
"Yes, Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru responded, letting a frown come over his lips.
The blonde pulled an arm back and punched his friend in the stomach, causing the lazy Nara to double over and clutch his midsection in pain before falling to his knees. He was quite surprised to hear Naruto's laughter before being pulled back up to his feet.
"That was for slapping me." He stated. "But otherwise, you're right. As always, Shikamaru." He clapped the genius on the back and grinned broadly. Naruto retracted his hand and scratched his neck in embarrassment. His grin dropped and he turned to gaze back at the battlefield. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I suppose I've just been blaming myself for all of this and it got so bad that I blinded myself in a way."
Shikamaru sighed and reached into his vest pocket for another cigarette. "You're as troublesome as ever…" He muttered. Naruto laughed again.
"I haven't heard you say 'troublesome' for a while now!" He exclaimed. Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he lit his cigarette. "Once a lazy bum, always a lazy bum, I suppose." Another laugh. "Well, you should be glad to know that I have a plan."
Shikamaru took a drag. "Mendokuse. I thought you were brooding. When have you had the time to come up with a plan?"
Naruto shrugged. "Actually, Kurama and I have already been discussing it for a while. At first I decided it was too dangerous to attempt and saved the idea for a last resort." He faced his companion. "And, with what's going on currently, we're going to need a last resort. We both know that Suna reinforcements won't hold. Especially since Kusa just decided to join in on the chaos."
"And? I hope this is good…"
"It's a time travel jutsu. We'll use it to travel back to when we first became Genin. And…we're going to fix all of this before it begins."
Shikamaru stared at him. Then he tilted his head back and looked at a cloud floating overhead. "Mendokuse. So how are we going to do this?"
Naruto smirked. "It takes an hour to prepare completely. And I don't think Oto and Kumo are going to sit back and let us perform it."
"There's an easy way around that. How many ninja do you need to complete the jutsu?
Naruto shook his head. "I'm not the one performing it. You, along with Temari and Sakura, are going to. You three have the best ninjutsu abilities after Neji, Sasuke, and I. Not to mention that you three are also our most valuable assets. Sakura's our medic and you and Temari are our strategists." He stretched. "So while you three perform the jutsu, I along with Neji, Sasuke, Gaara, and Lee, will make the final stand to buy you guys some time."
Naruto moved aside the fold of his Hokage robes to dig around in the pocket of his shirt. He pulled out a small case and rattled it around. Nodding in satisfaction, he handed the case to Shikamaru.
"Here are some soldier pills. There's about eight left. Each of you take two of them before performing the jutsu." He told him.
"You're forgetting something, Naruto." Shikamaru drawled, taking the case from his Hokage. "We don't know how to perform this jutsu you're talking about. Also, we can't perform it here. We need to retreat and find a better place so you can do it, seeing as you're the only one who knows how to do it. And there isn't enough time for you to show me."
"You know as well as I do that there is no way off this hill. We're surrounded. We have to do it here." Naruto said, shaking his head slightly. He brought his thumb up to his mouth and bit down, drawing blood. "Just hold on a moment, Shikamaru." He ran through a series of hand signs before slamming his hand on the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
When the smoke cleared, Shikamaru spotted a small red fox stretching its limbs before sitting and looking up at him. "Hey, Shikamaru." It said. Not bothering to wait for the Nara man's reply, it turned to look at Naruto. "So you decided to do it?"
"That's right, Koretsu." Naruto replied to the fox. "Show Shikamaru everything. I don't know how long I can hold them off, you're going to have to hurry."
"Got it." The fox said, rising to his feet and giving Naruto a little nod. It trotted over to Shikamaru, who was looking up at the clouds with another cigarette in his mouth.
"I'll send up Sakura and Temari." Naruto said, adjusting the Hokage's cloak on his shoulders. "Do it as fast as you deem possible. Send up a flare when you get it going." He turned towards the battlefield and took a deep breath. "Good luck, Shikamaru. I think it's about time I made an appearance."
He shot Shikamaru one last grin before disappearing in a flash of light. Shikamaru reluctantly tossed his cigarette on the ground and stomped it out. Koretsu had somehow produced a scroll and was in the process of unrolling it.
"So here is what you do…"
xXxXxXx
The bottom of the hill was surrounded, the invaders trying to get past while the defenders used what was left of their strength to keep the enemy-nin from bumbling their way to the top. Suna forces were stationed at the north as the reinforcements from Taki were divided, each half defending the south and east sides respectively. Finally, on the west side of the hill, Gaara and the remaining Konoha ninja were defending against the enemy's main invading force.
Swiftly and gracefully, Sasuke swung his Kusanagi blade and cut down another ninja. He smirked in satisfaction before ducking and taking down another.
"Nice one, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted from across the field after he had finished wiping out a wave of Oto-nin with a wind jutsu. Nearby, Lee and Neji were standing back to back, panting. They grinned at the success of their contrasting taijutsu abilities while several Oto- and Kusa-nin lay dead or incapacitated around them.
Sand slithered up the hill and latched onto the feet of some of the quicker enemy-nin. The panicked Oto ninja were soon covered completely in the grainy particles and Gaara wasted no time in snapping his hand shut. "Sabaku Kyū."
The five Shinobi backed in closer together until they formed a circle. Each of them had their hands positioned in front of their bodies, prepared to either flash through hand signs or to beat down the enemy with only their fists.
"I am drawing very close to exhausting my chakra." Neji announced before quickly dashing forward to intercept what appeared to be a Kusa Chuunin. After landing Jūken over the ninja's heart, Neji rejoined the circle. The sound of his deeper panting let his friends know that his chakra supply was, indeed, getting closer to being completely exhausted. "How much longer will it take for Shikamaru to complete that jutsu?"
"I have no idea." Naruto replied, whipping a kunai from the pouch on his hip and tossing it with skill and precision. It latched itself into the skull of an incoming nin, who fell to the ground in a heap. "It shouldn't be much longer though. We just need to hold on a little longer until Shikamaru sends up that flare." The blonde sighed deeply. "Well here comes another wave. Let's change tactics. If we hold back any longer, we're dead. So use whatever chakra you have left." He dangerously took a split second to give Sasuke and Neji pointed looks. "Without dying."
"Hn." Sasuke grunted, rolling his eyes and raising Kusanagi a little higher.
"Anyways, leave this entire side to me. The rest of you help Taki. They should be over on the south side." Naruto finished, eyes studying the steadily approaching wave with determination.
Sasuke used the sleeve of his blood-stained shirt to wipe the pooling sweat off his face. "Dobe, there's no way you'll be able to hold back this entire side alone." He said, glaring at the young man. Naruto looked over at him, face contorted in mock hurt.
"That's no way to speak to your Hokage, Teme!" The Rokudaime exclaimed, laughing slightly before swiping his thumb over his bloodied lips. "Besides, with an army of shadow clones, I wouldn't be alone at all. However, that's not what I'm going to do." He flashed through the hand signs and slammed his palm onto the yellowed grass. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."
The cloud of smoke cleared within seconds, revealing the familiar sight of Gamabunta, who was as enormous and red as ever. Lee jumped and whooped at the giant toad's appearance, leaving his friends to wonder how he could possibly be so energetic even after long hours fighting a war.
"That is our Hokage!" The spandex-clad man exclaimed. "Even now, when he is tiring, his fires of youth are blazing as bright as ever in his ability to summon the great boss toad!" He whooped once more before Neji brought a fist over his best friend's head. The last Hyuuga sighed. Even when they were in the middle of an all-out war, it was times like these that Neji missed Tenten. She always had been able to peacefully keep Lee and Gai-sensei from being unnecessarily…youthful.
Sasuke glanced at Lee and Neji out of the corner of his eyes. He rolled them, huffing and turning back to Naruto "You idiot. Even with Gamabunta, you still can't hold them all off alone!" He shouted at Naruto. "Let me stay and help!"
The broad grin Lee's exuberant behavior caused to form on Naruto's face dropped. He gazed irritably at his Uchiha teammate and narrowed his eyes. "No. You're needed elsewhere, Sasuke. Now go. 'Bunta and I can hold them off." Without waiting for a reply, he jumped high into the air and landed in a squat atop Gamabunta's enormous head.
Sasuke scowled, a growl rumbling in his throat. Just as he opened his mouth to retort, a hand grasped his shoulder. The Uchiha's head snapped sideways, annoyance and bubbling anger blatantly visible within his onyx depths.
"Now is not the time to argue." Neji told him. "We were given an order from our Hokage; now we must fulfill it." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the Hyuuga before shrugging out of his grip.
"Fine. Let's go." He ground out, sheathing Kusanagi and taking off in a sprint towards the southern Taki forces. Neji and Lee nodded before disappearing after him.
Naruto took a deep breath and opened his eyes. Oto- and Kusa-nin were racing towards him, kunai ready in their hands. He took another deep breath and nodded.
"Oi, Kid." Gamabunta boomed from below Naruto's feet. "I've been dying to get some revenge for Jiraiya." A look of sadness passed through the blonde's eyes at the mention of his late perverted sensei. How many years has it been now? Four? "So let's end this!"
Naruto grinned broadly and determination replaced grief in his cerulean orbs. Just as he was about to give out an excited exclamation, he felt a familiar chakra signature off to his left. Turning his head, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki saw Gaara standing atop a massive cloud of sand, arms crossed over his chest and face blank.
Gaara didn't say anything but the young Hokage seemed to understand perfectly. Naruto's grin got wider and he gave his friend thumbs-up. "Don't worry, Kazekage-sama!" He exclaimed. "I'll be fine!"
"You better be, Uzumaki Naruto." Gaara replied. "Or I'll drag you back and Sabaku Kyū you."
Naruto's grin dropped and a deadpan look washed over his face. He looked at Gaara with disbelief before reaching an arm around to scratch the back of his neck. "Hehe…something to look forward to then, I guess." He said nervously. Gaara offered him a small smile before disappearing in a large hurricane of sand.
Naruto let out a sigh before turning back to the battlefield. "Alright, Gamabunta! Let's do this!"
The boss toad reached for his enormous tantō and unsheathed it. With one massive leap, they were both in the air. Gamabunta swung his weapon and took down an entire wave of Oto-nin. As the giant toad continued to use his treasured sword, high up on his back, Naruto brought his hands together into a single sign: Tiger.
"Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!" He exclaimed, channeling a large amount of chakra into the attack. Above the heads of another wave of enemy ninja, an enormous dragon made of fire immediately became a first priority danger to any of the sensible shinobi on the ground.
The grass caught fire as the dragon soared closer to the earth. Kusa and Oto ninja alike were caught in the crossfire. The lucky ones got away with severe third degree burns while the unlucky were no longer anything but a pile of ashes. The dragon continued to soar through the enemy waves before finally disappearing after several long minutes. The incoming army seemed greatly decreased now. But the Rokudaime knew better than to expect it to stay that way. More were coming. More were always coming.
There was no more grass and whatever trees were still standing after the attack, weren't going to stay standing for long.
Naruto brought his hands together once again, preparing to start another attack. However, this was quickly stopped as he was suddenly tackled off of Gamabunta's head and was hurtling towards the ground. He flipped in the air and managed to land on both feet, skidding across the ground only a little ways.
His eyes darted around, looking for his attacker. He didn't have to search for long. Standing less than twenty feet away from him was a grey-haired man. Naruto growled as he easily recognized him. "Kabuto…"
"Naruto! I see you're still as fascinating as ever." Kabuto said, a smirking find its way onto his face. He had finally decided to switch out his old Konoha headband for an Oto one, which Naruto had absolutely no qualms with. Even if Konoha were still standing, as Hokage, Naruto would never allow that traitor to come inside the village walls again no matter what he did to show he was "loyal".
"Where are your little friends?" Kabuto chided. "Are they dead?" He smiled sadistically. "Don't tell me you're the only one left! Couldn't protect them?" Naruto sent him a look of utter hatred. If he didn't know how to control Kurama's chakra properly, he was absolutely positive he would have at least four tails by now. Or possibly just have let the damn fox loose.
Grinding his teeth, Naruto waved in Gamabunta's direction. "Go take on the rest of those Oto-nin. I want absolutely no interruptions as I kill this guy."
Gamabunta wasted no time in leaping away to do what was asked of him. Kabuto smirked wickedly as he channeled chakra to his hands in preparation to use his Chakura no Mesu.
"I see." He said slowly. "We'll see who does the killing, Naruto."
All of a sudden, Naruto couldn't think. Anger flooded his mind and before he knew it, he was charging forward with a Rasengan as his clone popped out existence.
"Rasengan, eh?" Kabuto said, clicking his tongue. "How unoriginal. Haven't you learned any new tricks?" He sighed dramatically as he easily dodged Naruto's attack. "What a disappointment. I actually expected you to have some skill." He lashed forward at Naruto's back, sweeping his arm through the air and slicing him straight through the middle.
Kabuto scowled as "Naruto" disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Sorry, that was a shadow clone." Naruto said, appearing behind Kabuto with another Rasengan. The grey-haired man dodged again, scowl deepened in irritation.
Naruto landed on his feet but didn't think for a second before he was already charging in on his attacker again. "Fūton: Kami Oroshi!" The wind to his right gathered into a miniature tornado and swirled frantically towards Kabuto.
The Oto leader retaliated in kind. He slammed his hand against the ground and shouted, "Doton: Doryūheki." Compacted dirt quickly rose from the ground just in time for Naruto's tornado to slam against it.
As the earth wall shattered to a pile of dirt, Naruto took the moment that Kabuto was distracted to vanish and reappear behind him. Kabuto had no time to react before a fist was slammed into his lower back.
The Konoha traitor stumbled forward but managed to keep most of his balance. His lips were no longer smirking, but rather turned harshly downwards in a hateful scowl. He stood up straighter and shot Naruto a glare.
"I was hoping you'd entertain me for a while…" Kabuto sneered. "But now you will die!" He spat, bloody saliva inaudibly thumping against the dirt.
"Ha!" Naruto laughed. "I've played a part in your mind games for years. Today, I've had enough." The blonde smirked and brought his hands together.
Kabuto's eyes narrowed further and he began to reach for his kunai pouch when, all of a sudden, he froze. His eyes widened and he struggled against his invisible restraints. He barred his teeth at Naruto and growled, "What did you do to me?!"
"You walked right into my trap." The Hokage responded, shrugging slightly. He nodded at the ground around Kabuto's feet and the glasses wearing man struggled to peer at the ground from the corner of his eyes.
"A seal?" The man snapped questioningly, seeing the intricate design that had been carved into the ground.
"That's right." Naruto replied. "It's a combination of Fūinjutsu and Ninjutsu, which you'll soon see." He grinned. "What's keeping you there right now is the strongest immobilization seal I could create. That's only the first step, though. The rest of this jutsu is going to take more than one of me to activate." The Rokudaime went through the hand signs with enormous ease. They weren't hard to do and he had been doing them for years…his mind briefly lingered on the fact that he would be going back to that time very soon. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Six clones appeared beside Naruto. With a single nod from the original, five of the clones advanced on where Kabuto was forcibly standing, his glare become more hateful with each second. Each clone took a corner of the five pointed, pentagram shaped seal and slapped their hands together, preparing for their Boss' command to begin.
"I see now." Kabuto hissed. "My vision was temporarily blocked by my mud wall. You took the time to draw the seal on the ground and then sent a clone in from behind to punch me and get me to stumble into your trap, where it was just waiting to nab me." He scoffed. "What now, Hokage-sama?"
Naruto scowled at Kabuto's sarcasm. "Took you long enough to figure it out. And I thought you were some sort of genius. Was I wrong?" He relished in the grey-haired man's evil glare. "I've been studying and preparing this seal since a little after your surprise attack. It took a long time, but now that's it's finished, I can finally take you out once and for all." He smiled grimly. "I call this Fuinjutsu: Godai Seishitsu Henka."
"Now, Boss?" One of Naruto's clones called out. The Hokage took a deep breath and nodded. He turned to the clone standing beside him.
"You're responsible for stabilizing the rest of the seal while the others do their part. Don't get distracted." Naruto commanded it. The copy of himself saluted and dashed off to join his clone brethren as they began to perform the jutsu.
The first clone to speak was the one standing directly to Kabuto's right. His hands formed a sign before getting slammed into the ground on his corner of the pentagram shaped seal. Chakra was channeled into the seal and the clone shouted, "Element one, Doton!"
The corner of the seal flashed brightly. Earth rose from the small area in front of the clone and compacted itself into a large, heavy slab. The clone focused its chakra a bit more and the slab flew speedily through the air and slammed into Kabuto's side, where his arm was stilled in place. Upon connection with his arm, the slab crumbled to dust.
Kabuto ground his teeth together from the pain of feeling the bones in his arm shatter. He was about to direct his chakra into his injured arm, planning on healing it, when the next clone began its attack.
"Element two, Fūton!"
The wind around Kabuto whipped and howled. His clothes slapped against his skin and his hair plastered itself to his face. The dust on the ground picked up and blew wildly all over the place, getting in his eyes. That's when he felt it. The wind formed blades and when it whipped against him again, Kabuto bit on his tongue to keep from crying out in pain. His shirt ripped and his cheeks were marked by the blood from his cuts. The wind cut deeper into his arm, nearly slicing through it entirely.
"Element three, Katon!"
The wind had almost entirely died down before the next part of the attack was launched. Whatever wind was left in the air from the previous attack helped fuel the enormous fireball that was launched at Kabuto. He was engulfed in flames and he cried out as he felt his skin become scorched and singed.
His clothes were on fire and his hair most likely was, too. He struggled against his invisible restraints again, trying to break free. His mind was so flooded by pain, he didn't think for a second about trying to heal his wounds.
"Element four, Suiton!"
A wave crashed down on him. The flames on his body were doused but the weight and pressure of the water left him feeling bruised. What remained of his clothing stuck to his body and he felt cold when the natural winds brushed easily against him.
Kabuto coughed and spluttered, water and bile dripping down his chin. He could feel the sting of the salt in his open wounds and the searing pain of his blackened and scorched skin. His vision was slowly beginning to blacken, the pain overwhelming his whole body.
"And lastly…" The real Naruto said, taking the last few steps towards Kabuto. "Raiton." Lightning crackled in his right hand, but he made no motion to move his arm. "Well now, Kabuto. I thought our final battle would be more impressive or, at least, much more difficult." He snorted. "But it seems I was wrong. I finally get the chance to fight you without one of your underlings to bail you out, and this is how easy it was? If that's the case, I should have killed you yesterday. Hell, I should have killed you three years ago."
Naruto laughed and sighed. "Well, that's a mistake I'll fix right now. You should have known you couldn't defeat me. After stopping Pein's attack on Konoha, after I put an end to Akatsuki…you should have known." Naruto's eyes hardened and he looked at Kabuto with a grin on his face. "You took a lot from me. My friends, my village, my people, my home. But there is one thing you haven't taken."
Kabuto let out a laugh, blood trickling out of his mouth. He smiled sadistically up at Naruto. "And what would that be?"
Naruto smiled at him. "My Will of Fire." The crackling in his hand became louder, the sound of chirping filling Kabuto and his ears. "You were the cause of the fall of Konoha. You killed some of my closest friends." His eyes flashed. "And you killed Kakashi-sensei, who was like a father to me. So I think, as my final act for him in this world, I will kill you. With his jutsu."
Kabuto somehow found the strength to chuckle. He looked up at Naruto with no signs of pain or fear in his eyes. "It seems so. But you'll never get rid of me, Hokage-sama." Naruto glared down at him. "I'll remain in your heart forever. My physical shell may be empty, but my spirit will haunt you. For the rest of your life."
Naruto ground his teeth together and closed his eyes for a brief second. He opened them up and scowled down at the man he was about to kill. "Are you ready to die, Otokage-sama?"
Kabuto's eyes filled with anger and bitter resentment. But then he just smiled wickedly and let out a short cackle. Naruto was sickened.
"Chidori!" The Hokage cried. His arm plunged through Kabuto's chest. His cackle trailed off and the light drained speedily from his eyes. He was finally dead.
Naruto pulled his arm back and took deep breaths. His clones vanished and the glowing seal dimmed, causing the immobility effect on Kabuto to disappear. His body fell back into the dirt and Naruto was sure the man was dead.
"…my spirit will haunt you. For the rest of your life."
The Rokudaime shook his head and turned away from the blood stained body. He needed to get those words to keep from echoing in his head…
He was pulled out of his thoughts when Gamabunta landed nearby. "Oi, Kid."
Naruto forced himself to smile. "Hey, 'Bunta! Are you done?"
"Nah. I've reached my limit. I wanted to give you something before I go." The toad boss boomed. A scroll appeared on the ground in front of Naruto and the boy immediately recognized it.
"Is this…?" He exclaimed, looking up at Gamabunta.
"Yes. That's the toads' summoning contract. Take that with you to the past, and you'll be able to call upon us whenever you need."
Naruto picked up the large scroll and strapped it carefully to his back. Then a realization hit him. "Wait…you knew?" He asked the red toad in disbelief.
Gamabunta laughed heartily. "A toad always knows."
The blonde groaned slightly. "Right. Maybe that's why Ero-Sennin was known as the Toad Sage. He always did seem to know what was going on…"
Gamabunta laughed again. "See ya round, Brat." He said before vanishing. Naruto sighed and adjusted the scroll on his back.
"Naruto-kun!"
At the sound of his name, he spun around with wide eyes. He sighed in relief as he recognized Lee bounding towards him.
"Naruto-kun! We have been looking for you!" Lee exclaimed exuberantly. "Shikamaru-kun has set off a flare and we are needed at the top of the hill!"
Naruto looked behind the green-clad ninja to the hill. He caught a glimpse of the bright red light before it disappeared entirely.
"Right. Let's go." Without another word, the two bounded up the hill, doing the best they could to avoid enemy forces.
"There you are, you baka!" An angry feminine voice exclaimed before Naruto felt something thump over his head.
"Oh, hey-o, Sakura-chan." The Uzumaki replied sheepishly, attempting to nurse the bump on his head.
"Mendokuse. Let's just get this over with, now that we're all here." Shikamaru groaned. "The portal is active but there's no telling how long it'll stay open. We need to go through now."
Understanding the situation, the last shinobi of Konoha and Suna began filing through the swirling blue portal. When finally Naruto and Shikamaru remained in the burning clearing, the former looked behind him and out at the battlefield again.
"Don't be too long, Naruto." Shikamaru said with a sigh, shaking his head and walking through the portal.
At the bottom of the hill, Oto-nin were beginning to clamber up. Not wanting to risk the possibility of one of them following him into the past, he began a series of hand signs. "Doton: Yomi Numa."
The bottom of the hill immediately became a swamp and the Oto-nin sunk into the brown earthen muck.
Naruto took one last look at the battlefield and the Taki- and Suna-nin who continued to fight. He smiled sadly and looked up at the sky. "Kakashi-sensei…Ero-Sennin…you have finally been avenged." He closed his eyes and smiled. "I will see you again, soon…"
He turned back towards the portal's entrance and jumped through. The swirling blue faded as the end of his Hokage's cloak disappeared from sight.
Translations -
Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Summoning Technique
Sabaku Kyū: Sand Coffin
Jūken: Gentle Fist
Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu: Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique
Chakura no Mesu: Chakra Scalpel
Fūton: Kami Oroshi: Wind Release: Godly Wind from the Mountain
Doton: Doryūheki: Earth Release: Earth Style Wall
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: Shadow Clone Technique
Fuinjutsu: Godai Seishitsu Henka: Sealing: Five Elements Nature Transformation
Doton: Yomi Numa: Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld
Doton: Earth Release
Fūton: Wind Release
Raiton: Lightning Release
Katon: Fire Release
Suiton: Water Release
Oto: Sound
Kusa: Grass
Konoha: Leaf
Taki: Waterfall
Suna: Sand