Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: Grew up. Lost interest in my old fics. Though I would try my hand at Naruto. Hopefully the motivation lasts. This first chapter is a bit serious, but afterwards, the story will a mix of humor and timed seriousness. Hope you enjoy.
Uchiha Sasuke was not a normal man. Nor was he a normal shinobi. He was widely hailed as the second most powerful shinobi in the elemental nations. He was the one who connected the continent with those around it, heralding a new age of trade. He was the one who created the first continent wide ANBU force in order to spy on those other continents.
He was also a man who killed his brother, a former terrorist, and a failed revolutionary.
Beyond all that, Sasuke, as those close to him were aware, prided himself in being a father, husband, closet pervert, and best friend to the idiot known as Uzumaki Naruto.
As he lay in bed contemplating the past, he looked to his side at the woman who allowed him one of those pieces of pride. His wife Haruno Sakura. Bathed in the light of the crescent moon, she seemed almost perfect.
He knew however, that she was not nearly as asleep as she looked.
"What is it my love?" she murmered, with her eyes still closed.
"Hn." He responded, in Uchiha speak. Sakura, Naruto, and his old sensei Kakashi were the only ones to ever understand what he meant when he made this small grunting noise.
"Sarada understands. As does Naruto." the medic spoke softly. She caressed his arm and dozed off.
That was the problem at hand. His daughter Sarada. Not that she was a problematic child. In fact, whenever she wasn't around Uzumaki Boruto, she was a mature well-adjusted child. The Uzumaki heir, however, seemed to have an odd effect on her.
The problem actually stemmed from Sasuke. He had found a scroll two months prior that could change the fate of the Elemental Nations. After speaking with Naruto, the other Kage, and the Jonin Commanders of the minor villages, the Uchiha Patriarch had been assigned an S-rank mission of utmost importance.
The mission: travel back in time to the failed invasion of Orochimaru. Defeat the Akatsuki early. Defend the jinchūriki. And most importantly, prevent the Fourth Great Shinobi War altogether. Why was this mission assigned and why was this mission assigned to him?
The answer stems from the journey on which he found the time traveling scroll. He had been executing a simple A-rank surveillance mission on the lands east of Tsuchi no Kuni. Past the Great Mountain Range, the country became known as the Kingdom of Chin. This had been Sasuke's first surveillance of the nation since the establishment of favorable trading relations between the two countries.
What he found both astounded and shocked him. The Chin were amassing an army. The likes of which he had never seen. He knew that chakra was specific to the Elemental Nations but he knew none of the Kage were naïve enough to assume that the Chin and other nations had no weapons of their own.
Although he expected weapons, what he saw was devastating. Tools that seemed to use fire release without chakra. A weapon that espoused poison gas. And most horrifyingly, it seemed that they had a dangerous powder that when used in their tools, could cause death and destruction beyond Deidara's bakuton (explosion release).
It was as he was heading home with his findings that he had gained the scroll. The experience of acquiring it was still too horrifying for him to ponder. He buried it within his memories alongside those of Orochimaru's laboratory. Although the Sanin was a loyal member of Konoha Research and Development now, his old experiemnts haunted Sasuke to this day.
When Sasuke presented the scroll to Naruto and informed him of the events, the normally humorus Hokage became serious instantly. Within two days he assembled a meeting of the leaders of the Elemental Nations.
The Kage, Jonin Commanders, and Daimyō of the small nations had unanimously agreed that their combined forces could not repel the Chin invaders. It was Darui, the Raikage, who mentioned offhand that the Elemental Nations had a larger population before the Fourth Shinobi War. Although it was offhand, the comment had merit. Although populations were booming in all areas of the continent, due to the lack of new wars, the amount of shinobi lost in the battle against Madara had been large. If they factored in those shinobi, the population of the continent's fighting population certainly outnumbered the Chin forces.
Hearing this statement, Sasuke once more presented the scroll. That offer was what sent him to this current moment. Lying in bed, contemplating his actions, and looking at his peaceful wife.
He knew the consequences. He had no chance of returning. He would not see this Sakura, this Sarada, or this Naruto ever again. In this time, he would be considered dead to the village. In the past however, he could change a great deal. Understanding this, with a heavy heart, Sasuke slipped out of bed.
He wore his token black cloak and grabbed the scroll by his bedside. He spared one last look for his wife and a single tear rolled down his eye. Gathering his emotions, he walked out of his room. Every step he took down the stairs reminded him of all the memories he had after the War. Good and Bad. When he made it to his front door, he heard a clang sound.
His shinobi instincts flared up. He spun around and whipped out a kunai, ready to face this assassin who dared enter his home.
Only to lower it.
"You weren't going to leave without saying goodbye to me were you? Jeez Otou-san, you go on month-long missions without saying goodbye, at least for a lifelong one give me a hug or something." Although trying to sound cocky and covering up emotions, Sasuke could sense the fear and concern in Sarada's voice.
In his thirty odd years of life, Sasuke had only cried a few times. This was one of those times.
He simply walked up to his daughter, hugged her, and kissed her on the forehead. As he wiped away his own tears, he whispered into her ear.
"I love you child. Be strong for your mother and idiot uncle. And do not cry. See your father off with your head held high." Giving her one last look, he released her, turned around, and walked to the door. Once at the doorway, he spared her one last look. And disappeared.
As he used Shunshin to speed his way to the Hokage tower, he had another thought.
Would you be proud Itachi? You, who sacrificed his family and life for his village. Would you praise me?
This is what resonated in his mind as he jumped into the office through the window. As always, there was a Kage Bunshin of Naruto doing paperwork in the dimly lighted place.
"Oy teme! What are you doing up at this hour? You have a beautiful wife at home, why are you here?" asked the shadow of the Fire Shadow.
"Hn." Naruto instantly understood the grunt.
"No, Hinata-chan doesn't mind that I compliment Sakura. Lord knows she does it enough." He responded.
"Hn." A drop of blood fell out of Sasuke's nose.
"Oh shut up. I am surrounded by perverts. Seriously. Sensei, Ero-Sennin, Closet Perv Ebisu, Konohamaru, baa-chan, Hinata-chan, you. It's unbelievable," the blonde Kage exclaimed, not a single time breaking his concentration on paperwork."
"Much as I would like to speak to you on that issue Naruto, we have a much more pressing matter to discuss. I am going to the monument. Tonight is the night."
That made the clone pause. He placed the ink aside. Looking up at his best friend, he stood and performed the Kawarimi. Where the clone stood was a pajama clad Naruto. The real Hokage. Rather than focus on the fox covered pajamas that the most powerful shinobi still wore at this age, Sasuke focused on Naruto's grim visage.
"Tonight huh?"
"Hn." Naruto simply nodded, grabbed Sasuke by the arm, and the two disappeared with a flash.
They reappeared on the head of the Shodaime.
Having though about this multiple times, Sasuke opened the scroll and placed it on the head. He looked at Naruto and the blonde Kage asked him one last time.
"Are you sure?"
"Hn." Hearing the customary response, Naruto flared up. His famous Kyūbi cloak appeared. He reached out his fist to Sasuke. The Uchiha responded with a fist bump and felt the flow of chakra.
"That should be enough. Don't want to send you back to far," Naruto said, and his cloak disappeared.
"Thank you." These were the only two words spoken by Sasuke but they covered far more than just the chakra. They covered the failed rescue mission. Both fights in the Valley of the End. And Naruto's constant belief in him.
Without another sound, Sasuke turned around. He pointed a hand to the sky, consolidating his chakra. For a moment, the whole world seemed still.
He brought his hand down on the seal in the scroll and screamed his last word in this time.
"FUIN!"
A/N: Will try to use appropriate Japanese when I can. Only going to use words that everyone in fandom recognizes. Please review regardless of opinion because I want to hear what I can change to make it better. Feedback of any kind will keep this story alive.