MA: hey peeps. So let me get this out of the way from the jump. I...hate...Naruto. I didn't always hate Naruto but that ending...wow. It was so bad that my former love of the series turned into bitter hate. To see a author/mangaka turn against his own creation was jarring for. I honestly wanted nothing to do with the series: no manga, no anime, no movies, no games, nothing. But then I started getting a idea. A Idea for a fic. And since I have a little bit of time, I figured I'd at least post a little something and see how it goes. It goes without saying that I don't own Naruto or the characters. If I did, I would've certainly not made that ending and the related material so crappy. So enough of this rant. ON WITH THE FIC!
NARUTO: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST
PROLOGUE
The single revealed eye of Kakashi Hatake took in the usual sight that normally occupied his mornings: the Konoha memorial stone. It is here that all those who have fallen in the line of duty in service to the village are remembered. It was a gravestone of gravestones. Special to anyone and everyone who lost someone since the founding of the leaf. He remembered when he was just a boy, visiting the site with his late father. The names weren't so numerous back then. Not small but any stretch of the imagination but no where near as big as they are now.
The Copy-ninja only came here to see 2 particular name: Obito and Rin. His former team. Both long dead.
He kept it a closely guarded secret about how he obtained his Sharingan, despite not being a member of the infamous Uchiha clan. No one really asked, partly out of respect and partly out of fear. Kakashi was already a talented and powerful ninja before he received the eye. Now, he was so powerful, there was even talk of him becoming a candidate to be a future Hokage.
But he did not care about that. He would give his much valued to speak with his old squad-mates, just one last time. He wanted to tell Rin he was sorry doing what he did to her. And he wanted tell Obito that he was sorry for not keeping his promise to protect her.
This was his routine. His habit. His sense of normalcy. Every morning he would come to pay respects to his teammates, his mentor, and his father.
After his hour long 'chat' with the dearly departed, he set off to the training grounds to meet up with his team.
His team. Hard to believe he had a team. Ever since he had become a Jonin, he had never gotten assigned a Genin team. And that's how he liked it. He didn't want a team. He didn't need a team. He was perfectly happy being just a regular Jonin. There were many young ninjas who hoped and dreamed that they could study under the famous Copy-ninja of Konoha but he didn't want to be a teacher. He felt like he didn't deserve it. But this was a direct order from the 3rd Hokage. Rare that the Hokage of all people would order him to take command of a team. But part of him could see why when he met up with the 3 young ninja, fresh out of the academy. Interesting little group, they were.
Sakura Haruno. High marks in her class. Very intelligent and studious. Rare to find a Genin with perfect chakra control. The negatives? She had not the mindset for being a shinobi. More focused on her looks than really training. And the only reason she wants to be a ninja was to gain the attention of a boy. Not a good start.
Sasuke Uchiha. The boy she liked. He couldn't really blame her. He was the class genius. Best in his class. Last survivor of the Uchiha massacre, done by his own older brother, Itachi. Sasuke was looked up favorably by the higher ups that he could be the next great ninja. But he had a darkness in him. A darkness that could lead him down a dark path.
And Naruto Uzumaki. The class clown. The dead last. Everyone knew him. He was a prankster who dreamed of being Hokage He looked so much like Minato-sensei but had none of his skills or talent. He took more after his mother than anything else. The host for the Nine-tails. Hated and shunned by the village. But colorful and excited by being a ninja.
Interesting group but they would still have to pass the bell test. The same test Minato-sensei gave him, Obito, and Rin all those years ago. It should show just hot dedicated that they were to this way of life. He expected to fail them since they did not seem like the types to work in a team, which the test requires.
As he approached the grounds, his single eye focused on the orange, red, and blue forms of the trio in question. He expected them to be unhappy and irritable, since he told them not to eat before the test began, to throw them off their game. But from what he could see, they seemed neither. They seated in a small semi-circle, talking to each other. About what, he couldn't make out, even with his highly sensitive ears. But it was so odd to see that scene. He didn't get the sense that they would be talking so closely so soon. He thought he had a pretty good handle on how they would interact with one another:
Sakura loved Sasuke Thought the boy was utterly awesome and thought he could do no wrong. But she hated Naruto for being annoying.
Naruto liked Sakura Easy enough to pick up. But he disliked Sasuke From what Iruka told him, the two had a bitter rivalry, like cats and dogs. Dead last vs. Top student.
Sasuke didn't care for anyone, at all. He had no time for romance nor did he view Naruto as anything but a hindrance.
These elements could be worked around with time but they seemed too...chummy for his tastes.
They suddenly turned heads towards him as he approached. Their talking ceased as he got nearer.
"yo," he greeted, "sorry I'm late. I got lost on the path of life."
he expect to get some glares and screams of "YOU'RE LATE!" from at least Naruto and Sakura They seemed the type to do that. But no. He was met with dead silence and very serious stares from 3 pairs of eyes. It was then that he noticed it. The looks in their eyes were...different from yesterday's first meeting: Sakura's eyes no longer where those of a shallow fan-girl, hoping to gain the attentions of a boy but those of kindness and mercy and a certain weariness. The kind of eyes you'd see from a doctor. Sasuke's were still had hints of darkness in them but it were tempered, gentle, like the evening sky. Naruto's were the most changed. There was still energy and youthfulness there but they were also tired eyes, like the weight of the world was on his shoulder. He had the eyes of a seasoned leader. Kakashi was almost intimidated looking at the son of his teacher. They didn't have the eyes of fresh young rookies. They had the eyes of vets, of ninjas have seen death.
They had the eyes of ninja who have seen too much death.
"so," he began, hoping that it was just his imagination messing with him, "now it's time for your test."
"Kakashi-sensei." Naruto voice shocked him. It was the same as yesterday but had a sense of...command about it. Like he was about to order him to do something and expect him to do it. "we need to talk."
"oh? What about?"
"I'm afraid we won't be taking the bell test." Kakashi was surprised, though he didn't show it on what little of his face was exposed. How did he know about the test? He never gave the test to anyone before.
He needed to play this cool. "and why not? You do know your lives as Genin are on the line."
Naruto waved it off. "what we have to talk about is more important."
Now his curiosity was really piqued. What did these three want to talk about that was more important than the test? He decided to humor him. "ok. So what do you want to talk about?"
Naruto exchanged glances with the other two, who nodded with him. After that, he began, "Kakashi-sensei, this is gonna sound crazy. It doesn't make sense to me when I think about it but everything, EVERYTHING, I'm about to tell you is the honest truth." He took a moment to collect himself before he continued. "Kakashi-sensei, we...aren't your team."
"you...aren't?"
"well, not really anyway."
"so...you are telling that you aren't Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke?"
"well, yes we are, but...not the same people that you met yesterday. We are them but different."
"how different?"
"we...are from the future."
there was a pregnant pause the moment those five words left the blonde's mouth. The trio wanted him to process the information. There was no outward sign of shock, surprised, and disbelief. They expected this. Kakashi was always hard to read, only showing emotion when he wanted to. They knew this. If he didn't trust what he had said, he certainly didn't show. His single eyes looked at each other, trying to see a smirk betray the prank they were pulling on him. Nothing but dead seriousness.
He finally spoke, "you...are the future."
"yes."
"just you, Naruto?"
"no, all three of us."
"I see. So what's the future like?" he asked in a very humored tone.
"he's tell the truth, Kakashi-sensei." The Jonin nearly jumped out his skin. Her's was different too. There ware maturity that wasn't there before. Maturity and wisdom. And slight undercurrent of affection, directed at Naruto Why would she act like that for him? Didn't she like the Uchiha?
"he's right, Kakashi. He maybe a moron but he's being straight with him." him too. Sasuke's voice did seem dismissive and insulting towards Naruto but there was a friendship in it. A closeness that wasn't there before. What is going on here?
"this is a joke, right? I'm not sure how Naruto wrangled you two in this prank but..."
"enjoy your visit to the memorial, Kakashi-sensei?" Said Naruto, stopping his teacher from speaking further. "you got there every morning. That's why you are always late."
"visiting Rin and Obito, right?" Sakura added. Were they watching him? And how did they know about his team? It's not common knowledge. And he doubted they asked Guy or anyone else.
"Obito Uchiha. My cousin. The same man you got that eye from." Sasuke's finger pointed to the eye that was covered by his forehead protector that acted like a make-shift eye-patch. There was no way this boy would know about his Sharingan. Least of all that he got it from Obito.
Naruto spoke, "it was on your last mission with your team. You lost your eye during a battle. Obito was crushed by a massive boulder. Half of him anyway. He asked Rin, as a last wish, to remove his Sharingan and place it in your eye. That way, you two would be bonded for life."
"ENOUGH!" he roared. Now, Kakashi Hatake was normally a very laid back man, not prone to outbursts of emotion. But when he was angry, he was force of nature, with a ferocity that rivaled his own ninja dogs that he summoned on occasion. And now, given all that he had heard from the young upstarts, he was terrifying. His outcry did make them jump a bit but they were not outwardly frightened. "I don't know where you got your information or how, but I would advise you to stop. You are treading in territory that you should not go. I'm gonna call it a day. And you are going to take the bell test tomorrow. And I do not want to hear anymore of this senseless prank. And for your sake's, you will." It had been a long time since Kakashi was angry. Really, legitimately angry. He was so angry that he didn't even think about cracking open the newest volume of "Make-out Paradise" that was burning a hole in his back pocket. It would be a hours before he would be able to find his calm and not want to go to the Hokage to ask him to rid himself from these three.
He turned on his heel and started to walk away when Naruto spoke again. "Kakashi-sensei." the Jonin was about to admonish the younger man but the moment he turned back around, his rage had all but vanished in that one moment. Naruto now standing up, his arm outstretched towards the older ninja. Inside of his open palm was a aqua blue ball of pure chakra, spinning like a pinwheel in the breeze. He knew what it was and he was utterly speechless. It was impossible. He shouldn't even know about it, let alone be able to perform it.
"this is the Rasengan," Naruto, somewhat strained, "you know this, right? One of the most difficult jutsu to learn and to master. It has no hand-signs. The only way to learn it is from someone who already knows how to do it since the method to do it was never written down. Only 3 men know this jutsu: you, Jiraya of the legendary Sannin, and the man who created it, Minato Namikaze. He was your teacher, the 4th Hokage and my father." When he was done, his arm went slack and the ball vanished into the air. He exhaled sharply, panting in distress. Almost instantly, Sakura was by his side, holding his arm.
"Naruto..." her voice was heavy with concern.
"I'm fine," he muttered, "it's just...doing the Rasengan in this body..."
"hold still." her hands began to glow green, sending healing waves into his shaking arm.
Sasuke watched and said, "you can heal already?"
"yeah but not by much. Only so much I can do right now." after a few moments, it seemed like he was feeling better as he flexed his fingers. He gave her a nod, telling her that she did a good enough job. This sealed it for him. Sakura should not be able to know the healing arts. All of this was impossible for Kakashi to rationalize. Unless...he was telling the truth. There was no other explanation that came close to making sense.
After a few minutes of processing what they told him and what he had just seen, Kakashi slowly sat down and spoke, "that was...interesting. So, let's say for a second I believe you. That you 3 are from the future, the obvious question is easy: why are you here?"
Sakura and Naruto settled back into their seats. "what we are here for is to...change the future."
"change it? How far into the future are you from?"
"about 25 years, give or take."
"25 years. That's quite the trip."
"it was."
"so what happens that so bad that you came all the way back here to change it?"
"ok. ummmm. In a about 3 years from now, there's gonna a war. A big one. This one makes the past one look like school yard fights."
"which village do we fight?"
"it's not a village. This time, we were fighting something worse: the Akatsuki."
Akatsuki. That's a name he had heard the name before. Not many Jonin knew about the group of rogue ninjas. The mere fact that they knew the name was just more proof that their outlandish story was true. "the Akatsuki? Didn't they would be grow strong enough to actually challenge us like that."
"not just us. All the villages unite against them. For the time ever, the entire ninja world was united in one cause."
"so you are to stop the war?"
"no. although it would be a bonus for us if we did. Actually, we won the war. It's just what came after the war that is the real reason."
"what happened after the war?"
Sasuke spoke only one single word, "hell."
Their faces darkened. Whatever this future was they came back from, I wasn't sure he wanted to see it. "hell?"
"we...don't much about them," said Naruto, "we don't even know where they came from originally. We only know three things: they were powerful, they were evil, and they weren't human."
Sakura spoke next. "they attacked about 6 months after the war. We tried to fight them but...you have to understand, Kakashi-sensei We had just finished fighting a world war. We were in no position to fight another major conflict, and certainly not against...them."
"how did you do?"
"we threw everything we had at them, Kakashi," spoke Sasuke, "but in the end...we barely were able to do much of anything. We lived but lost."
"lost what?"
"everything. We lost everything."
"but...you guys are still alive. How were you living?"
"that's just it," said Naruto," we weren't living. We were just...surviving."
END OF PROLOGUE
ahhhh. And so it begins. Glad I was able to get this out of my skull in time. So what do you think? Want to see more of this? Then go ahead and leave a review of it. If I get at least 10 reviews, I will continue this story and you can see how the future turns out after a massive invasion and a losing war. So until next time...
LATER FICCERS!