Kasek: Alright, here's the deal- I have way too many ideas that I'll probably never finish, let alone continue (see Red Dawn In New York, as well as possibly some others that only have a couple of chapters), so I'm making a place where I put ideas that I like too much to not start a chapter 1, but will probably never make more than just a chapter 1 for. If somebody wants to, they can adopt an idea, as long as they ask first, link me to the story when it's posted, and (optional, but highly suggested) I get some credit for it.
For this story: This is a time-travel fic, starting from a point after Naruto is captured by Pain during the invasion of Konoha. I took a liberty or two with the timeline (both the original and the 'new' timeline), which anyone who knows the story will be able to spot; the one in the 'new' timeline is very important, while the other one not so much. Also, I'm particularly keen on this story, and may make it into a full-on story if people like it a lot. I have more in mind for this than, say, Angel of the Leaf, and especially Red Dawn in New York, which nobody has taken up my adoption offer on.
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Title: (Work in Progress)
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Naruto woke up with a start. His breathing was heavy, ragged even, as he examined his surroundings. His breathing evened out a bit as he tried to calm down. "Huh? How'd I... get here? Wasn't I... fighting just now...?"
--
Naruto grit his teeth as his consciousness faded, the city burning all around him. He looked up as a pair of sandals appeared next to him, and he glared into the many irised eyes of Pain, the Akatsuki's leader. He swore as the last of his power left him, unable to continue fighting.
--
He put that thought aside for now. Maybe it had all been a really complex nightmare...? Especially since he remembered Konoha having been leveled by Pain. He looked around his apartment and frowned. It was... different than he remembered. Looking around, he saw that some of his stuff was missing- in particularly, the photograph of Team 7 he treasured so much. He quickly got out of bed, noting that it seemed a longer distance to the ground than he remembered. What was going on this morning...?
He found that his stores of food seemed to have been tampered with, as well- all he had were ramen and cereal, as well as some milk. He frowned- the refrigerator was taller than he remembered... heck, everything was. Or was he just shorter? He took out the milk and checked the expiration date- his eyes widened. According to the date, the milk had expired years ago! No way in heck was he going to drink it now!
He grumbled as he moved on with his morning routine. He went into his bathroom to brush his teeth, and his jaw dropped when he saw the mirror- it was like something out of a bad novel. He was... shorter. To be more accurate, he was... younger. How did that happen? He dashed out of the bathroom, and made his way to his closet. Opening it up, he saw that it was full of the clothes he had worn when he was younger- there was even the jacket he loved so much that had gotten destroyed during his training with Jiraiya. It wasn't just that he had gotten younger- the very hands of time had been turned back, his mind remaining the way it had been. The thought occurred to him to wonder just how far back he had gone. Looking around, he couldn't find his hitai-ate anywhere... so, he was still an Academy student, then.
He remarked to himself that he was taking this rather well- after all, he was sure most people would panic if they suddenly found themselves stuck in the past. Maybe this, too, was a dream? Maybe he was dreaming this up, after he had been defeated by Pain, and awaiting the extraction of the great beast inside of himself?
After he had gotten completely ready, he decided that the best way to establish exactly where he was in the time stream was to go to school- if he was lucky, it was towards the end of the Academy year, and he could be a ninja again in no time. Wait, what was he thinking? He needed to go to the Hokage- now.
--
Naruto huffed as he sat in the hallway outside of the Hokage's office. He had told the receptionist that it was very important, but he doubted she had listened. Especially since he had been waiting a long while. She doubted that she had even told the old man that he was here. After another minute, the door opened, and none other than Jiraiya walked out. Naruto reminded himself to keep calm (he was mostly over the man's death, but not entirely), and spoke to the man as politely as he could. "Excuse me, I have something important to discuss with the Hokage, and, well... it would be of benefit if you could listen to what I have to say as well."
Jiraiya snorted at the boy. "Do you even know who I am, brat?"
Naruto gave a small bow with his head. "Jiraiya of the Sannin, Toad Sage of Myobokuzan, teacher of the Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Minato, author of the Icha Icha series of novels... and my godfather."
To say that Jiraiya was surprised was an understatement. "Wait, how did- What the- who the-" He composed himself. "That would make you Uzumaki Naruto then?" Naruto nodded. "Okay then. I think I'll listen to what you have to say."
--
To say that Sarutobi Hiruzen was surprised when Uzumaki Naruto walked into his office on a school day was an overstatement. To say he was surprised when Jiraiya followed the boy in was accurate. "Jiraiya? What are you doing back here? And with Naruto?"
Jiraiya growled. "The boy just proved to me that he knows way too much. Care to explain?"
Hiruzen took his pipe from his mouth. "Too much? About what?"
Naruto kept silent as Jiraiya continued. "He knows I'm his godfather. Only you knew about that. So tell me how he knows."
A lump formed in Hiruzen's throat. "He knows? I didn't tell him."
Naruto decided to speak up. "What I came here to tell you, old man... was why and how I know this and more. You see... somehow... my consciousness was sent back in time from the future."
To say that the old men were surprised was an extreme understatement. Hiruzen nearly dropped his pipe. "...say what now?"
Naruto took a deep breath. "I don't know how it happened, but it did. If you want me to, I can prove it very easily. I can show you my senjutsu, my skills with Kage Bunshin and the Rasengan... even an elemental Rasengan, something not even my father could accomplish. And there is my status as a jinchuriki."
A groan escaped from Jiraiya's lips. "This is... just great. You believe him?"
Hiruzen nodded. "It's... all stuff that he could possibly learn in the future..."
Jiraiya shook his head. "Brat, prove to me you can use sen-chakra." Jiraiya noted to himself that there would be two possibilities of this- the brat saying he can't, or that he can't without the summoning contract, the latter being the correct answer in his mind.
He was surprised by a third possibility when Naruto nodded, and sat down and began meditating with his eyes closed. Jiraiya's own eyes widened when he felt the natural energy swarming around the boy. "O-oi, if you do it without help, you'll be turned into a toad!"
Naruto didn't seem to care, and after a few moments he opened his eyes again- he had red rings around them, and his irises had turned yellow, and his pupils had turned into horizontal ovals. "Is this proof enough for you, ero-sennin?"
Jiraiya mumbled an affirmative, and Naruto stood up again. Hiruzen sighed at the situation. "So, Naruto... what are you going to do from here?"
His gulp was audibly heard. "Well... I don't know. I guess... I can just change things for the better... but.. the more I change, the more the future will become unpredictable... But... There is one thing I want to do for sure... Stop Akatsuki in their tracks."
Both of the old men stiffened. Jiraiya turned to the young boy. "So, they've made their moves in the future, eh?"
Naruto nodded. "Worse... in the future I am from... their leader, Pain... during his search for me... leveled Konohagakure."
Hiruzen nearly choked on his own spit. "What?! What kind of man has that kind of power?!"
This time Naruto shook his head. "He isn't the Akatsuki's leader for nothing. He has some sort of gravity jutsu that I think he extended the range on to wipe Konoha off of the map."
The old Hokage leaned back in his chair. "I see... do you know anything about his identity?"
Naruto nodded again. "All I know for sure is that he was an old student of Jiraiya's, and that he has this weird doujutsu."
Jiraiya was nearly paralyzed. "Student of mine.... doujutsu... Nagato? But I thought he was dead..."
Hiruzen rubbed his forehead in annoyance. "I knew little good would come out of that venture of yours, Jiraiya..."
The Toad Sennin palmed his face. "How was I supposed to know? Look, I'll admit I'm not exactly a good decision maker, but how was I supposed to know that a student of mine would become the leader of an organization of S-class criminals?"
The younger sennin piped up. "Look, I don't even know why I'm bothering with telling you guys all this. What I really need to know is where in my life I am so I can pick up the pieces and get on with my it."
The elderly Sarutobi nodded. "Well, tomorrow will be the third time that you will have taken the genin exam... speaking of, Iruka won't be happy that you're missing the last day of class."
Naruto chuckled. "Ah, good old Iruka-sensei... Knowing him, he's out hunting for me... if I remember correctly, in the original timeline I was supposed to paint the Hokage faces today..."
They heard someone knocking on the door. "Hokage-sama, Umino Iruka here to see you."
Naruto's yellow eyes widened. "Crap, it takes more meditation to get out of Sennin Mode without discharging a ton of chakra.."
Jiraiya smirked. "I'll handle this, brat."
Hiruzen nodded. "Send him in, I think I know what he wants."
The door opened, and in walked Iruka. "Hokage-sama, I need to see about- Naruto! What are you doing in here? And... what's with your eyes?"
Naruto gulped. "Um, you see, uh..."
The elder sennin put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Turns out the kid has a special ability. I call the eye thing the Gamagan. I have it too, but for me it normally takes intense meditation to activate, while Naruto can activate it after only a few seconds of meditation."
Iruka was very surprised. "Naruto? Has a Kekkei Genkai?"
Jiraiya shook his head. "It isn't a Kekkei Genkai per se... but it is a very special ability, which only people with enormous amounts of chakra can use, and only a select few among them can activate it."
The Academy sensei's eyes widened in yet more surprise. "Wait, Naruto has that much chakra? But... the tests always said he didn't have much..." A look of horror came upon his face. "But that would mean that... well no wonder he's never been able to make bunshin before... That's just great..."
Naruto shook his head. "It's not your fault, Iruka-sensei... besides, I've been working on it. I've got great control now."
Iruka smiled. "I hope so, Naruto... because if you don't, you might end up failing the exam again."
Naruto nodded in understanding. "I don't think you have to worry about me, Iruka-sensei. I'll pass no matter what!"
Iruka chuckled. "I'm glad to hear that, Naruto. Now, make sure to come to class when you're done here, alright?"
The young sennin smiled back at his teacher. "I'll be along in a few minutes."
After Iruka bowed to the Hokage and left the room, Naruto turned back to said Hokage. "This brings me to the first order of business- failing this exam and getting... a certain traitor to reveal themselves."
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. "A 'certain' traitor?"
Naruto grit his teeth. "I don't know if I should name them or not... I probably should in case I fail to fail. Mizuki, Iruka's assistant."
The old Hokage growled. "Mizuki's a traitor, is he?"
Naruto nodded. "He's attempting to get the Scroll of Sealing to give to Orochimaru. Unless somehow the timeline's been altered already..."
Hiruzen sighed at the thought. "And how does failing your exam get him to reveal himself?"
A sigh of his own escaped Naruto's lips. He explained how Mizuki would get him to steal the scroll, and then he would confront Naruto and Iruka, reveal Naruto's status as a jinchuriki, and try to kill the both of them and take the scroll. Finally, he mentioned that he himself defeated Mizuki with the Kage Bunshin no jutsu he had learned from the scroll like Mizuki had told him to.
Jiraiya smirked. "Hey, looks like the kid's got some of his dad's talent after all... learning the Kage Bunshin in a few hours is very impressive for a genin."
Naruto chuckled at Jiraiya's comment. "And me being a sennin didn't tip you off that I might be worth something?"
Hiruzen gave his own smirk mirroring Jiraiya's. "Well, then... I guess you ought to be heading to class, Naruto."
Naruto nodded, but before he did anything else he sat down on the ground again and began meditating. After a few moments, the pigment around his eyes disappeared, and he got up rather slowly. Hiruzen noted his eyes were blue once more. "Yikes... that really does take a lot out of me... Well, see ya, old man!"
As Naruto left, Hiruzen chuckled. "Well, his skills say he's someone else, but only Naruto and Konohamaru have the audacity to call me 'old man'."
Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah, he's a brat, alright... though, with talent like that, I wonder if I shouldn't have raised him after all..."
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't like teaching geniuses?"
Jiraiya's smirk returned at that. "There's a difference between being a genius and having talent. With genius, everything comes to you easily; with talent, one or two things come easily, and the rest you have to work for. For him, I'm betting that his talent is high-ranking ninjutsu... ...you know, we never did ask how far into the future he's from. Let me know if you find out, alright?"
The elderly Hokage chuckled at his student's mind. "Alright, I will."
--
As Naruto walked calmly into the classroom, all eyes were on him. He heard a whisper of 'Where are his goggles?', and mentally slapped himself for not remembering to put those on since he was no longer a shinobi. He then mentally noted that maybe this would be a time to act like his old self, but... he just didn't feel like it. Iruka acknowledged him with a nod. Naruto was about to go to a seat when Iruka spoke up again. "Well, not that we're all here, we can start the practice tests! First off, everyone line up, and transform perfectly into me!"
There were many groans, but no one outright protested. After many tries from the students (and not one complete failure), it was Naruto's turn. If he remembered correctly, then right now he ought to be using the Oiroke no jutsu, but... again, he didn't feel like it. What was up with him today? It wasn't that long ago he had last used it, was it?
He performed perfectly, to everybody's surprise, and went to where he thought he had seen an empty desk before. He yawned as he saw the ever so perfect Uchiha Sasuke perform perfectly as expected. Naruto froze when he realized who he was looking at. Sasuke? Crap. I completely forgot about him. Remind me to tear Orochimaru limb from limb when we see him. If I can take down five Akatsuki-level ninja in the course of about a minute or two- wait, one of them went down twice, so six Akatsuki-level ninja- then Orochimaru shouldn't be much of a problem.
--
It was the day of the genin examinations, and to be frank Naruto was severely bored as he waited for his turn to take the exam. As he knew would happen, it was a test on the Bunshin no jutsu. When it was finally his turn, he walked into the next room and stood before the examiners- Iruka and Mizuki. Naruto calmly put his hands into the appropriate seal, but at the same time, he was gathering chakra into his nose. After a moment, he sneezed, and used his jutsu at the same time... resulting in several near-dead clones.
Iruka grit his teeth. "You... FAIL!"
Mizuki chuckled. "Come on, Iruka... look at how many he made. If he hadn't sneezed, they might have turned out right..."
Iruka sighed. "It doesn't matter. As much as I hate to do it, Naruto, you're only allowed one chance."
Naruto tried his best to look sad. "O-of course, Iruka-sensei. I'll... be going now."
--
Naruto sat on the swing outside of the Academy for a couple of minutes, watching the other kids celebrate with their parents that they were ninja now. He nearly smirked at them- he knew who really was or was not going to become shinobi. After another minute, he was about to leave when Hyuuga Hinata walked up to him. "Ummm.... Naruto... are you... feeling alright?"
He froze completely as he looked at her. Hinata seemed to notice this. "N-Naruto?" After another moment, Naruto tore from his swing and dashed off, leaving her wondering what she had done wrong.
Hiruzen, who had been watching Naruto from the crowd along with Iruka, took note of this. Did something happen between him and Hinata? I wonder...
After a while, Naruto stopped running. He looked around himself- it was a rather empty street, with only a couple of people around. If the timeline was going to be the same this time around, this when Mizuki would come by. As predicted, after a minute he was approached by Mizuki. "Hey, Naruto. Why don't we talk for a bit?"
They found a rooftop to sit on, and then they started talking about Iruka. Mizuki looked up into the sky as he talked. "Iruka-sensei is a very serious person, you know. His parents were killed when he was young and he's had to take care of everything himself. The probable reason as to why he treats you like he does is... he sees himself in you, and wants you to become strong."
Naruto gave a fake sigh. "I understand, but... I still wish I had graduated..."
A smirk found its way onto Mizuki's face for a moment before turning into a smile. "Is that so? Then... let me tell you a special secret..."
--
Hiruzen sighed as he spotted Naruto sneaking into his house. "So, how does this part go down, exactly?"
Naruto scratched the back of his head at being caught. I guess he's not Hokage for nothing... "Well, I knock you out for a while, and then when you wake up you organize a search party to find me or something."
The old Hokage seemed amused by the thought. "Oh? And how did a non-genin knock me out the first time around?"
Naruto smirked. "Like this." He put his hands together in a seal. "Oiroke no jutsu!"
Hiruzen assumed a battle stance as Naruto was covered in smoke. What does he have up his sleeve? I can't let him catch me off guard... and what's with that name? After a moment, the smoke mostly cleared, revealing a rather... as the name implied, sexy young blond woman, with the only thing protecting her modesty (which he doubted the boy/girl even had in the first place) being some well-placed smoke. Hiruzen took one look at it before his nose exploded with blood, and he passed out, twitching.
Naruto sighed as he reverted back to his normal form. "Sorry about that, old man... Nothing personal."
--
Iruka sighed as he remembered what the Hokage had told him after the exam. "I'm glad you look out for him, despite the fact that many people think you have every right to hate the lad..." His thoughts were interrupted by someone knocking on his door. He quickly answered, and was surprised to see Mizuki on the other side. "Mizuki? What's wrong?"
Mizuki looked out of breath. "It's Naruto! He stole the Scroll of Sealing as a prank!"
--
Naruto meditated in Sennin Mode with two Kage Bunshin as he waited in the same spot he had originally gone to when he had stolen the scroll. He didn't feel like learning anything new from the scroll- and the thought had occurred to him that the Hokage might not like it if he learned something- so he had left well enough alone and sat there in relative silence as he waited for Iruka to find him. Sure enough, Naruto felt Iruka's chakra signature heading straight towards him, and Mizuki not far behind him... and a couple of jonin he recognized, Kakashi included, tailing him.
He slowly got up and dusted himself off as Iruka appeared in front of him. Iruka looked annoyed, to say the least. "I found you...."
Naruto chuckled. "Yes, yes you did... now, if you don't mind, I have a traitor to beat up and hand over to the Hokage..."
Iruka was obviously confused. "Traitor? The only one here who could even be considered a traitor is you, Naruto! Why did you steal the scroll?!"
Naruto sighed. "Because... Mizuki told me I would pass if I learned a jutsu from this and performed it successfully when he came by to check on me. Which would be right about now, so..."
Both of the clones opened their eyes, and took out kunai, startling Iruka and causing him to take out his own kunai. However, they disappeared and reappeared behind Iruka's back, and deflected many more kunai that had been thrown at them. The original Naruto moved in front of his clones and glared at Mizuki, who was standing in a tree, two large shuriken on his back and wearing his bandana-style hitai-ate. Mizuki chuckled. "Oh, it looks like the brat has some talent after all... how come you never showed that level of ability in the Academy?"
Naruto snorted. "Because, I didn't have it in the Academy... it's a long and complicated story, and I don't feel like revealing it to a traitor like you."
Mizuki grit his teeth. "Why you little-! Why don't you just hand over the scroll, huh? Not like a demon like you can do anything with it."
A wide smirk appeared on Naruto's face. "Talk much farther and you'll be breaking yet another law, Mizuki... sure you want to be doing that?"
Surprise showed itself on Mizuki's features. "What? You mean you know?"
Naruto chuckled at the phrase. "Know what? I know lots of things. For instance, that you're a dirty traitor that intends to give this scroll to Orochimaru."
Mizuki paled. "How did-? Be that way, brat! I'll just kill you and Iruka and no one will be the wiser!"
The young sennin smirked. "Ah, but I already told the Hokage about you. If you haven't noticed, there are three jonin waiting for you to make one wrong move. But... you know, I really want to lay one good punch on you. I'll make it a light tap so I don't kill you outright."
Mizuki jumped down, and took a large shuriken off of his back. "Fine then. I come at you, you come at me- the one who goes down first loses."
Naruto smirked. "Fine by me." They charged each other, Mizuki spinning the shuriken in his hand as he ran towards Naruto. He threw it, and Naruto dodged it, and made a lazy attempt at a punch towards Mizuki's face with his right hand. Mizuki naturally dodged it, and made a punch of his own at Naruto's face, which Naruto did not even bother to dodge. The traitor was stunned for a moment when his punch did not even cause Naruto to flinch, and then he felt something hit him in the left side of his face, causing him to go flying to his right. He slammed into a tree trunk and slid down, unconscious.
Iruka blinked. "What... just happened?"
Naruto cracked his neck as he tilted his head back and forth. "Ah... that felt good."
As Naruto had stated, three jonin- in particularly, Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma- came into the clearing. As Kurenai and Asuma apprehended Mizuki, Kakashi's lone eye was narrowed. "Who are you and what have you done with Uzumaki Naruto?"
Naruto shook his head. "Maybe you'll find out later, Hatake Kakashi. In the meantime... hey, Iruka-sensei, you want to go out for victory ramen?"
The two clones by Iruka grinned. The one on his left tugged on his arm. "Yeah, yeah! I'll even pay for it!"
The other clone looked horrified. "You're supposed to get him to pay for it, idiot!"
Iruka chuckled. "If you're paying, I'll go." After a moment, Iruka's eyes widened in shock. "Wait a minute.... you two are... solid bunshin! What's going on here?"
Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well... I kind of... learned it from the Scroll of Sealing..."
Iruka sighed, and smiled. "Well... Mizuki did tell you that you could pass if you did that, didn't he? Naruto, close your eyes." Naruto gladly did so as Iruka walked over to him. He could feel Iruka tying his hitai-ate around his own head. "You can open them now..." Naruto grinned as he touched his finger to the cold metal on his forehead, and Iruka smiled at him. "Congratulations on graduating, Naruto. Maybe I'll buy you that ramen after all."
Kakashi sighed as he watched the two walk away. He could tell the boy was going to be a real pain in the future. He had no idea.
Kasek: So yeah. That' the end of this particular fic idea, unless you people want me to post this as a separate story and continue it. Maybe I'll work on chapter 1 of my 'fantasy' Naruto fic and post that here, too.
EDIT: I reworked the meeting with Hinata scene to show that Naruto is still affected by what happened in chapter 437.