Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
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"...Team Seven consists of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke," announced Iruka as he looked up from the front of the class at the named students. For a moment it looked as if Sakura was going to cheer at the top of her lungs but she paused mid breath, not only her but all three of the newly appointed Genin.
"What the hell?" asked Naruto to nobody in particular as he looked around at the classroom as if he had only just woken up from a dream and had forgotten how he had gotten into class in the first place.
"I just said you were on a team with Sakura and Sasuke," declared Iruka.
"...okay," said Naruto meekly as he closed his eyes, seemingly having nothing more to say.
As Iruka continued announcing the teams, Sakura leant towards Sasuke, something which didn't go unnoticed by Ino who was fuming that the forehead girl was placed on the same team as their crush. "Is this real?" whispered Sakura to her teammate, worried about what was going on considering how difficult it was to believe.
"I believe Naruto is finding out," said Sasuke as he tried to activate his Sharingan, to feel the bloodline he cherished flow into his eyes. When nothing happened however he bit at the inside of his lip as he wondered just what was going on.
Sakura meanwhile was scanning side to side, acknowledging yet not believing what it was she was seeing. Had they been caught within the Infinite Tsukiyomi? No, she clearly remembered being safely underneath Sasuke's ultimate defense as she, Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke planned their next move. If they had been caught there was no way that the three of them would be stuck within the same genjutsu as they shouldn't realize that they were stuck in the first place.
The scribbling of paper snapped Sakura back into action as Naruto slid a note over to her. Only a couple of words were written on it but the message screamed out at her.
It's real.
Sakura gave a worrying look to both other members of Team Seven as confusion reigned supreme. None of them dared speak about it, they didn't want to say anything that would draw attention towards them.
Minutes ticked by as Jonin instructors came to pick up their teams, one by one the groups being led out by those who would guide them into the world of shinobi. Team Seven remained in place however, the last group of Genin waiting for complete isolation from everybody else so that they could talk. Their teacher however had other ideas.
"So, the three of you seem excited to be on the same team," said Iruka as he tried to pry a response out of the three teenagers. He knew he would be lucky to get a word out of Sasuke but the other two he knew would tell him about how ecstatic they were.
Or at least he thought they would.
"I'm sure your sensei isn't too far away," said Iruka starting to cling at straws, wondering just what was going on.
The three Genin however knew that Kakashi was still hours away and that Iruka simply didn't know of the Jonin's tendencies. Yet how could they explain to the teacher that they had spent what seemed like a lifetime fighting both with and against the silver haired ninja? How could they break it down that they had seen the deaths of thousands in little more than a handful of days?
How could they explain that they had seen war when they had only been given their headbands a week ago?
"Well...I've got to take this paperwork to the Hokage," said Iruka nervously as he shuffled with the files on his desk, clearly uncomfortable with the situation he was in. "Best of luck and I'll see the three of you soon."
Picking up the paperwork, Iruka sent one final look towards the remains of his class before exiting the room, closing the door behind him. Several more seconds ticked by and not a sound was made before Naruto broke the tension, not with a knife but with a trebuchet.
"THE HELLS GOING ON!"
...
Kakashi stood in a field, one he had stood in a thousand times over. The better question though was why he was standing in front of the memorial stone, looking at the name of his comrade who had supposed to die a ninja of the Leaf.
Not live on as the man determined to destroy the world.
Turning his gaze skyways he prayed that he wasn't trapped in the dream world his former teammate had prattled on about. He had to consider the possibility that the protection Sasuke had provided wasn't strong enough. Considering how dense his technique was he doubted that this was the case.
He had no idea of what year it was, let alone day. Almost every morning for years he had stood in front of this stone to mourn his friend. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a piece of paper, grateful that he could still recall his old habits (how old was still up for debate).
Reading the scrunched up paper a small smile formed underneath his mask as he realized just when he was.
...
"Alright, let's recap what just happened during that battle and why we are now back to the day we became a team," said Sakura as she stood at the front of the nearly empty classroom with a piece of chalk in her hand.
"I'd I was to hazard a guess, I'd say that when we were underneath Susanoo we activated a failsafe," said Sasuke with his fingers laced.
"Perhaps Asura and Indra who we inherited our strength from knew that Kaguya would one day return and if those carrying their will weren't ready they'd be given a chance to get ready," said Naruto.
"All right then, let's go with that," said Sakura as she marked it down on the blackboard.
It was safe to say, that this odd circumstance that Iruka and Sarutobi spied in on was not what either of them were expecting as the three fresh Genin continued to chat away in a rather docile manner. Both men were aware that there were likely to be malevolent sparks flying between the three members appointed to Team Seven. This was a recurring theme regarding the team at the end of each year which consisted of the best student and the worst of the class. Iruka hadn't shown it at the time but he had become worried when none of the children had acted how he had expected them to. It was for that very reason why he and the Third Hokage's now stared at the crystal orb in an attempt to figure out what was going on.
"I can see how this troubles you," said Sarutobi as he took a puff from his pipe. "Seeing Naruto sit in place for an extended period of time is surprising to me as well."
"When I announced the teams they merely sat there Hokage-sama," said Iruka. "Every other team either wished their newest teammates good fortune or argued over why they had to be stuck with a certain person. Considering Naruto is by far one of the loudest students I have recently taught I thought he'd be the most vocal about having to be on the same team as Sasuke."
"This, while worrying, isn't something we should linger on," said Sarutobi. "Perhaps they had known beforehand what team they would be placed on and opted to show that they were serious about becoming shinobi."
"A person's personality doesn't change in an instant," said Iruka.
"Well I'm sure if something were amiss Kakashi would inform us within the following days, provided they pass his test," said Sarutobi as the vision faded away from the crystal ball. "I'm sure everything will turn out alright."
...
"Well how do we prepare ourselves for what's going to happen," said Sakura as she finished drawing up her timeline of all the critical events that would occur within the next few years, ending with the war.
"We've been given a chance to change everything so why shouldn't we?" asked Naruto.
"Because we don't know just what the outcomes will be," said Sasuke as he walked towards the blackboard and pointed at the event in the timeline labelled Chunin Exams. "For instance, there are several key events in here we have to consider."
"You mean Orochimaru," said Sakura.
"Even before that," said Sasuke.
"You're talking about me shouting out in the test aren't you," said Naruto.
"For instance, if you don't act like yourself who knows how many more teams may give up and in that case we may actually avoid the preliminary finals and in turn Lee wouldn't fight Gaara," Sasuke broke down. "Considering the end result we should look at that as a definitive thing we should change."
"Agreed," said Naruto. "Even with those extra couple months we can give Lee training who knows just how much more he could improve."
"Alright, so this is something we can change," said Sakura as she marked it on the blackboard.
"You know that your own strength will have to increase a vast deal as well," said a familiar voice from the doorway revealing their Jonin instructor.
"Seems as if you came back as well," said Naruto. "Good to know we wouldn't have to train behind your back."
"Well it would seem that we are only back in mind, our strength is that which it was back at this time but this is something we can change quickly," said Kakashi. "I'll be able to reduce the number of missions we go on but we can't stop them altogether. For most of the mundane missions shadow clones will be used while we train in secret."
"Why in secret?" asked Sakura.
"Because we are in a time of peace," said Kakashi. "Spies are everywhere and if it looks as if freshly groomed Genin are preparing for war retaliations will be made. Every small change we make will affect something so minutely that it will snowball out of control if we are not careful. Even tomorrow we are meant to have the bell test and even though I already know that the three of you will pass we have to keep up appearances."
"We have two end goals we have to work towards," said Sasuke. "The changes we make have to ensure that these direct events don't occur."
"And which two moments in time are those?" asked Kakashi as he looked at the blackboard. Honestly the three students of his had been very thorough in their descriptions of what was yet to happen.
With the chalk in hand, Sakura circled a single name right near the end of the timeline. Kakashi agreed that that was indeed the end game.
"So just how are we going to deal with Madara?" asked Kakashi. In response, Sakura circled another name much closer to the start of the timeline, one which mildly confused Kakashi. "Kabuto?"
"Kabuto is the one who resurrects Madara and at that moment in time only he and Orochimaru are capable of using Edo Tensei," said Naruto.
"Orochimaru himself though told me he had no wish to join the war," said Sasuke. "He will not bring back Madara."
"That just leaves Obito," said Sakura.
"I will be the one to kill him," said Kakashi. "He's my responsibility."
"You know how strong he is though," said Naruto. "We'll help you."
"During the war we learnt how we can defeat him and I'll make sure we do so before he becomes the Jinchuuriki of the Juubi," said Kakashi. "If we could kill him at the Five Kage Summit then we could prevent the war entirely."
"Provided the Summit still happens," said Sasuke.
"Indeed," said Sakura as she marked on the board. "Any critical change we make from defeating an Akatsuki member to the Chuunin Exams and even our training will change the future."
"So I guess that means we have to act like our old selves in public, that's probably going to be the hardest part," said Naruto not really wanting to become the idiot he once was again. Undoubtedly he had become more mature over the past few years (which technically hadn't happened by this point) which made the idea of boasting atop a street pole that he would become Hokage less appealing. By all means it was still going to happen but after seeing everything that was yet to happen made it all the more clear that he had to achieve his goal, just in a different manner.
"Agreed, I remember that after the bell test tomorrow we go out for dinner with both Team Eight and Ten to celebrate," said Sakura. "While it would be great to play the speech out exactly the way we had before it is all but impossible to remember every detail. The future will change, no, it has already changed."
"I think that's enough on the topic for now," said Kakashi breaking the train of thought going on. "We'll meet up at the old training ground tomorrow and use that as a chance to figure out our current limitations. From there we can construct training schedules suited to maximize the time we have to reach out potential."
"Seems like you're taking our training seriously this time round," said Sasuke bluntly.
"Well I don't have to worry about teamwork exercises this time round," said Kakashi. "For example, Sasuke and I were able to push his speed up to successfully use the chidori in a month. This time round we should be able to do it in three weeks and start within the next couple of days as opposed to the time waiting for the Chunin Exam Finals. Unfortunately without Jiraiya here you won't be able to work with the toads Naruto but you should still remember all of the steps in order to create a Rasengan."
"Sure do," said Naruto knowing that he should have the technique down within a week since he knew all of the shortcuts this time round.
"The one thing Naruto that I do strongly urge is that you don't break the seal on Kuruma in the middle of the village," said Kakashi.
"Yea, he and I discussed that before," said Naruto sheepishly as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "I want to let him out of his cage as soon as possible and become as strong as I can but I know that as soon as the village feels Kuruma's chakra they'll panic. The longer we can maintain our final form will be beneficial."
"I think beneficial is a term that sells you short on so many levels," said Sakura. "You and Sasuke quite literally are destined to be the saviors of the world, the most powerful shinobi of this era. Beneficial just doesn't cut it."
"Well do you need Tsunade here to start working on your medical justu?" asked Kakashi.
"I remember about seventy percent of the theory, the rest of which I can likely find in the library on in the Hokage's office," said Sakura. "Putting it to practise will take time but I'll be able to have the basics down within a couple months."
"A couple of months lead us to our first big event," said Sasuke reverting everyone's attention back to the blackboard.
"Wave," said Kakashi. "The progress we'll make by then will be far greater than what it was and we'll have to make choices which will determine future events. For now though, I recommend a light solo training and stretching, remind yourself just what you are capable of before tomorrow so that you don't injure yourself trying something you don't know yet."
"Alright then, until tomorrow," said Sasuke as he stood up, making his way towards the exit.
"Hey Sakura," said Naruto garnering the pink haired kunoichi's attention before she left the room.
"What?"
"Would it be appropriate for me to ask you out for a bowl of ramen?" asked Naruto with a cheeky grin on his face.
"You know when I'm not working on medical jutsu I'm going to be working on strength, the same strength which can level buildings and crush boulders. Remember we are trying to act like our old selves but if I kill you by accident it's not my fault," said Sakura smiling back at Naruto, acknowledging the joke.
"Fair call," said Naruto as Sakura left the room leaving only him and Kakashi. "Are you alright sensei?"
"Arguably, I'm surprised all of us are taking this as well as we are," said Kakashi as he leaned against the wall. "Considering everything that we were experiencing what seemed like a few hours ago is years away we are quite calm about the whole thing."
"I think it's because we've been given a chance," said Naruto as he looked out the window. "We know the timeline that we've travelled down before and it ends with us on the losing side of things. We have dozens of opportunities to fix it now which just makes us feel a bit at ease."
"We all deal with war differently Naruto," said Kakashi as he made his way to the exit. "Remember, your team is here for you."
Looking over his shoulder, Naruto found himself alone and allowed his positive demeanour to fade away. He knew though that he likely wasn't the only one, the rest of Team Seven too were dealing with this situation in their own way and it was unlikely that any of them even knew how to cope with the situation. Was there even a way to deal with the situation?
Perhaps he was overthinking it, possibly even underthinking it but he couldn't help but fear that in their desperation to save the world they could possibly end up being the ones to destroy it.
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