Apologies for bad grammar, incorrect knowledge/assumptions of Naruto timeline, OOCness, and bad fight scenes. Not used to writing yet so bear with it
Read, review and enjoy! x
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Hiruzen Sarutobi takes a long drag of his pipe. He's too old to be Hokage, he muses. He sees the next generation rising and he knows it is the way of the world that students always surpass their teachers. After all, his fallen successor had surpassed all previous expectations. He was the beloved Yondaime and he should be Hokage now, not Sarutobi in his wizened, old age.
There's no successor yet. Anyone who could possibly meet the standards of the Yondaime is either dead or doesn't want the job.
He supposes he has to hold on to his position for a little while longer, but on days with cases like this, he really does wish there was someone else to drop the workload onto. It's supposed to be a normal day for the Sandaime. And yet his ANBU are bringing in a stranger in a black cloak with an ANBU mask who supposedly willingly surrendered when halted.
The stranger files in, his facial expression hidden behind his Kitsune mask. His guards were correct in their belief that the Kitsune mask isn't in use currently. He distinctly remembers retiring it indefinitely after the horror of the Kyuubi no Kitsune attack.
He can't gauge the expression on the masked shinobi but his posture doesn't look particularly worried. The Kitsune mask stands comfortable and at ease surrounded by the tensed ANBU soldiers. There is another issue that the Sandaime cannot detect the shinobi's chakra at all. There's not even the faintest trace of his chakra and the Sandaime knows seasoned shinobi who can't even do that around himself.
"ANBU, you are dismissed," Sarutobi sets his pipe down, "Go."
Reluctantly, throwing glances back at the stranger, the ANBU leave the room silently and the Sandaime sets up his privacy seals. Who is this man?
"You wear the mask of Konoha ANBU," Sarutobi starts.
"That's because I am a Konoha shinobi," the man interrupts, immediately realising his mistake and straightening sheepishly. Sarutobi notices how his voice was calm but forceful, the air of a commander.
"You're a fool if you think I'll believe that. I'm the Hokage and I know every shinobi that serves under me," Sarutobi scoffs. Is he a spy?
"I serve Konoha," he uses the same even, unflinching tone.
Sarutobi has seen his fair share of liars but there is no trickery to be sensed in those words. Sarutobi narrows his eyes, "Who are you?"
"Jiji-san..." the Kitsune unmasks himself and he is the striking image of Namikaze Minato.
Sarutobi actually has to blink. Only then does he realise that this man, while sharing the same spiky blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes, is not the Yondaime. He's not as broad, his face not as angular. He has to blink again when he sees the distinctive whisker marks, marks that are unique to one Uzumaki Naruto, currently a 12 year old genin.
"I've missed you, Jiji-san," the Naruto Uzumaki older-lookalike murmurs sadly. There's wistfulness in his voice and sorrow in his eyes that reminds Sarutobi of a man who has lost everything.
Sarutobi openly stares at the older version of the genin he knows and loves, "Naruto...?"
"Time travel," Naruto finally explains, "is a tricky thing."
"You are from the future? How is that possible?" Sarutobi demands immediately.
Naruto holds out his hand, creating a blue swirling ball of chakra, "This was my father, the Fourth Hokage's, jutsu, taught to me by Jiraiya."
Sarutobi's eyes widen.
"Ask me any question, Jiji-san," Naruto says, "I will answer. Believe me."
Sarutobi leans forward, "Who are your parents, Naruto-kun?"
Naruto smiles a sad half-smile, "Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage, and Uzumaki Kushina, Princess of Whirlpool."
Sarutobi says nothing but sighs. That's an S-Rank classified secret that not even the 12 year old Naruto is privy to yet.
"This was a last resort," Naruto explains, "Sandaime-sama, Konoha is in ruins."
Sarutobi straightens at the formal address in Naruto's tone. He means business.
"Imagine this place...burning. Imagine Konoha burnt to the ground, only ashes left. Our people, citizens and shinobi alike, gone. Imagine that hell," he speaks quietly, a haunted, raw tone in his voice.
"It is my duty to make sure that doesn't happen," Naruto says resolutely. His emotions are once more in check. The crystal blue eyes that in the 12 year old Naruto look bright and innocent in this older man look hardened and determined.
"Sarutobi is unsure of what to say, "That is a lot to take in."
He cannot imagine Konoha razed. He has to suppress a shudder at the thought of his beloved village gone. Konoha is strong, resilient, full of shinobi willing to die for it. He cannot imagine all of them actually dying for it.
Even worse, Sarutobi has to imagine this young man, barely out of his teens, shoulder that burden. The pure sadness in Naruto's voice is enough for Sarutobi to know the man isn't lying. The raw guilt in Naruto's eyes strikes a chord in Sarutobi's heart.
Naruto blames himself.
"I know how crazy it sounds," Naruto sighs, "But thank you for believing me, Jiji-san."
Sarutobi can only "mhmm" in response and inwardly wonders how much Naruto has changed. He watches this boy- no man- stand before him and Sarutobi realises why he thought this man was Minato. His entire being, the way he stands and the air he exudes, is one of power and strength. Naruto reminds Sarutobi of a Hokage in his prime.
"You became Hokage," Sarutobi means it as a question but it comes out as a statement: a fact of the future.
"The Rokudaime, to be exact," Naruto smiles, "Can you believe this loud-mouthed prankster became Hokage, Jiji-san?"
Sarutobi appraises him now. Yes. Naruto truly transformed. He is worlds away from the goofy 12 year old he is now. Sarutobi can tell he is stronger and smarter. Definitely more cool-headed. Sarutobi has always thought Naruto was his mother's son, but now he sees much of Minato in Naruto too.
Gazing at Naruto, Sarutobi finally sees the exhaustion lining Naruto's face. The guilt is eating at him and Sarutobi isn't sure if Naruto has had a good night of sleep any day recently. His face looks pale and worn and his eyes are tired and guarded. Someone needs to give him a break.
"Everything starts to happen during the Chunin Exams," Naruto begins to explain.
Sarutobi nods but cuts him off, "There is time...time to process before the Chunin Exam starts. Later, you can come back and we can discuss things. If you want to become jonin, I will have to test you. Give you a story."
"I intend to stay relatively in the shadows," Naruto supplies, "Although I wouldn't mind dropping by the old genin teams. My generation."
Naruto says it like they are special and watching Naruto, Sarutobi has a feeling they are.
"Naruto, you won't be able to go about the village looking like Minato reincarnated," Sarutobi says, "You truly grew up."
Naruto tilts his head contemplatively and his blonde hair turns auburn and the striking blue dulls, whilst the whisker marks disappear. He's heard the Minato comment a hundred times over from both enemies and friends. He's been told a hundred times how much he's changed from the hyperactive genin he was (is). But hearing it from his jiji, his grandfather, the first person to care for him, means more than anyone will ever know. The Sandaime died before he could witness Naruto growing up and his loss was a heavy one on the boy's heart.
"Call me Naruaki," Naruto nods. His stance changes. It becomes tall and imposing and there is no fear or self doubt in his eyes.
"I'm not into flashy missions, and I will keep my Kitsune mask. You can just say I'm ANBU who's been on a long mission as a spy outside of the village and I unexpectedly came back. The reason for my nonexistent records are because they were destroyed so no traces could be made back to the village in case I was caught. After the Nine Tails attack, Konoha was rebuilding and chaotic. ANBU were in dire need of recruits then. No one will question if I became ANBU then, even if I would've been young."
Young, not younger, Sarutobi notices.
"The Council will have questions eventually," Sarutobi narrows his eyes.
"I need a mission to cement my status," Naruto nods, "But, for now, they will accept 'ANBU on a break'. If you'd like to test me, I can be at Training Ground 10 tomorrow," Naruto says, "And if it isn't a problem, I've sent a shadow clone ahead to secure an apartment."
"There's a free one next to your younger self," Sarutobi offers.
"Yes. I'm setting up seals right now," Naruto nods.
Sarutobi leans back, "I'll see you tomorrow at 11 o'clock. Are you intending to remain as ANBU?"
Naruto tilts his head, "Think of me as ANBU on a break, Sandaime-sama."
He moves to depart his office and just before he does, Naruto turns slightly, glancing over his shoulder, "It's good to be back, Jiji-san."
He hears the sadness and wistfulness in Naruto's voice. He hadn't thought of it to begin with but he supposes that in the future he must be a dead man. He'll have to ask Naruto about it and hope he went as the proud Hokage he is.
- Minutes Later -
Making his way towards the new apartment, Naruaki spots his younger counterpart in his eyesore of an orange jumpsuit outside the apartment.
"Hey, kid!" Naruaki calls out to the orange clad boy.
Naruto turns to face the jonin warily. Naruaki has to withhold a wince at seeing the clearly displayed fear in the cerulean eyes.
"Who are you?!"
"Jonin," Naruaki offers. He had always been cheery and trusting in his younger days but he had also been used to terrible treatment from the civilians. Naruaki doesn't want to scare the young boy.
Naruto looks ready to dart back into his apartment, "I've never seen you around before."
"I just moved in next door, kiddo. Just got back from a mission," Naruaki explains.
"Mission?" Naruto narrows his eyes suspiciously.
"Yeah, it was long and hard. Hokage-sama sent me out for many years," Naruaki grins, "And now I'm hungry. Have you eaten yet?"
Naruto shakes his head and his eyes widen, "You must be a strong ninja if the old man sent you on long mission."
"I'm Naruaki," Naruaki nods, smiling, trying to remember ever being this naive and sweet as Naruto's entire being transforms and brightens.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Genin and future Hokage!" Naruto yells excitedly. Naruaki chuckles at Naruto's enthusiasm. When the war started, there was no time for 'youthful happiness' as Lee would say.
"Let's eat, kiddo," Naruaki gestures to their apartment, "What do you want?"
Naruto takes a moment and then grins, launching himself inside Naruaki's new apartment, "Do you make ramen?"
Naruaki sighs, "Don't you eat vegetables, kid?"
"I want miso ramen," Naruto protests.
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you won't grow strong, and then you'll be a genin forever," Naruaki's eyes gleam wickedly. He can't remember the last time he spent time with children. Probably his own genin team he taught, Naruaki has to supress shudders at that thought.
"Really?" Naruto exclaims, raising his voice, "I don't wanna be a genin forever! I'm gonna be Hokage!"
"Don't worry, kiddo. Let me just make some stir fry." He heads into the kitchen.
"Can you teach me a new jutsu?" Naruto demands, following.
"Maybe later, kiddo," Naruaki says, remembering his obsession with jutsu, "So what's being a genin like?"
"Well, Kakashi-sensei is my teacher but he's always late! And I'm on a team with Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme. Sakura is really nice and pretty! And, oh, she has the coolest hair!-"
Naruaki smirks and lets Naruto ramble on about his team and training and their missions. They just returned from the Wave mission against Zabuza and Haku and Naruto talks about them a lot. After the Wave mission, Team 7's teamwork got a lot better and maybe now that's Naruaki is here, he can give them the final push to make them a team that can withstand anything, including the Chunin Exams and its aftermath.
- Next Day -
Sarutobi walks up with Naruaki, "Naruaki, you will be sparring with this ANBU."
"And are these the examiners?" Naruaki glances at the jonin present.
"Audience," Kakashi corrects, "Sandaime-sama invited us. Who are you again?"
"I'm Naruaki, ANBU," Naruaki explains, "I've been gone for a while on a mission and now I'm taking a break from ANBU, maybe join the regular jonin roster. Hokage-sama wants to see my skills before he decides what to do with me."
"Let me introduce myself! Yosh! I'm-"
Naruaki pretends not to hear and shunshins to the middle of the field. Any respectable Konoha shinobi knows the jonin present. They're infamous, especially in bingo books around the continent: Sarutobi Asuma, former Twelve Guardian Shinobi, Might Guy, Green Beast of Konoha, Hatake Kakashi of the Sharingan and Yuhi Kurenai, genjutsu master.
The four of them sweat drop at the ANBU's departure and assume maybe he's just not sociable. After all, returning ANBU tend to no longer be used to human contact.
The truth of the matter is that Naruaki cannot bring himself just yet to face the four senseis. They were his mentors after all. All of them had taught him many things and had also died during the war, all for him. He hadn't come prepared to steel himself from the visions and nightmares of their deaths. Seeing their faces when he tries to sleep is hard enough. He's really going to have to harden up if he wants to face Konoha properly. Instead, he faces Wolf ANBU and slips into his deceivingly simple Academy-style stance.
"Taijutsu!" Sarutobi announces.
Almost immediately, Naruaki leaps into battle with Wolf. From the moment he races forward and his feet lash out, it's clear that he's quick. His attacks move seamlessly.
Kakashi quickly lifts his hitai-ite to reveal his Sharingan, commenting, "He's quick on his feet."
"He doesn't use a pure taijutsu style either," Gai points out, "It's a mixture of many styles. I can see the Nara clan nimble attacks, the Academy style, of course the ANBU style and even a little bit of the Gentle Fist Style. The amount of practice it takes to blend those together so flawlessly...must've been incredible."
A mix match of many styles that he's combined seamlessly is Naruaki's main style. His signature, it seems, is the sheer unpredictability of his moves. He'll shift his weight to strike on the left and suddenly strike on the right.
"Unpredictable," Asuma murmurs, carefully watching the way Naruaki moves, swinging his arm while dancing out of reach at the same time, before striking quickly again.
The Wolf ANBU suddenly decides to weave a fire dragon jutsu which Naruaki grins at. Everyone is flabbergasted when Naruaki matches this with his own water dragon. Very quickly, they're trading jutsu and occasionally some lightning quick sparring. Naruaki scowls when he remembers he can't use the Rasengan or any variation of his signature move. But he's getting bored and it's time to wrap up this battle. He quickly leaps forward to attack the ANBU head on with taijutsu and darts away using shuriken to momentarily distract him. With quick hand seal movements, Naruaki unleashes a Wind jutsu where a blade of wind slices through the air, shoving Wolf into a tree.
Asuma from the sidelines blinks, "He just ruined our ANBU."
"Well," Kurenai sighs, "He is ANBU himself."
Kakashi shakes his head, "Wolf is one of the most elite.." Kakashi stares at the man curiously. He's wearing a Kitsune mask so that Kakashi can't see who he is, but he doesn't think he knows any shinobi with that shade of spiky auburn hair.
"Enough!" Sandaime-sama stops the battle, "I've seen enough. You are definitely of jonin capabilities."
"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Kurenai asks.
Naruaki shrugs, "ANBU experience." He removes his mask to meet their eyes.
Kurenai notices the eyes straight away. Not because of their glinting pretty blue colour, but because they are hardened and heavy, darker and unreadable, steeped in shadows. He has the eyes of a war veteran. But it doesn't make sense; he doesn't look much over 20. He's not old enough to have fought in the Third Great Shinobi War. She frowns slightly.
Kakashi is frowning for a whole other reason. At first glance, he had been sure that this ANBU was Minato. Now, upon further inspection, Naruaki is definitely not Minato. But they have the same kind of eyes. Kakashi has seen Minato's eyes so many times and twelve years later has not forgotten the distinct blue shade. It's not exact, but Naruaki's eyes are nearly the same colour variation as Minato's. It's not just that, Kakashi narrows his eyes; there's something else about Naruaki that reminds him of Minato, although he can't place what it is just yet.
Naruaki smiles, "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get cleaned up."
"You should join us for a night out!" Gai offers.
"No, thank you," Naruaki smiles politely, "Maybe another time once I'm more settled in."
The real reason for the decline is that he's afraid to slip up around his mentors. They trained him to be who he is today and seeing them alive and breathing and still passing on their teaching makes him straighten. They were true shinobi, the kind to look up to and Naruaki wishes so badly to tell them that Naruto will become the best of the best because of them. Instead, he remains silent and smiling.
"Actually, why don't you join me and my team for a training session tomorrow?" Kakashi jumps in, "You look like you'd have something valuable to teach my students."
Naruaki dips his head, "Of course. I can help out." emI can help make Team 7 more close-knit, more whole.
"Great, I'll see you at Training Ground 7. Come in the morning, don't be too late," Kakashi eye smiles, eager for an opportunity to inspect Naruaki.
Asuma nods, narrowing his eyes at Naruaki, "I don't think I've seen you around the village before."
"ANBU," Naruaki shrugs quickly, "Extended mission."
The jonin glance at each other. Regardless of his current status, he should be recognisable from his younger, genin days. Granted, there were a lot of shinobi in the village but between the four jonin almost all the names are familiar.
"We'll see you around then?" Kurenai politely prods.
"Ahh..hai," Naruaki admits reluctantly. He knows how sociable and tight the Konoha jonin are. They're family, a community, and for all his newfound loneliness, he doesn't belong with them.
As Naruaki walks off, Kurama's voice rumbles, Are you sure you can handle it, gaki? We cannot afford to slip up.
"I won't," Naruaki insists in his mind.
Kurama grunts, but says nothing.
- Later -
The sunset paints the skies above Konoha a brilliant, fiery red and orange, like the Will of Fire has come to life. Naruaki admires it from the top of the Yondaime's monument Otou-san, one more time, I swear to protect Konoha.
He smiles faintly as the wind rustles and he gazes at all of Konoha in all of its glory. He finds it so difficult to connect this peaceful village to the one of his time. Konohagakure then lived with death and war; it gripped them tightly. Konoha today is calm, relaxed, comfortable in its peace.
Naruaki lets himself relax and think back on his genin days. When he was young, he had only wanted to be acknowledged. And then, he wanted to protect his comrades. Now, it's a different story. Now, he will die for his home. He will do whatever must be done to make Konoha strong.
There is a storm brewing and even if the Leaf shinobi do not see it yet, he does. It is his duty to ensure Konoha is ready when it comes.
Naruaki smirks slightly and remembers what Shikamaru had told him during the war, I don't do metaphors or speeches. It's too troublesome. But remember, Rokudaime Hokage, Konoha has the Will of Fire. And fire is tenacious and unyielding.
Fire is tenacious and unyielding.
Naruaki basks in the last rays of daylight.
Konoha will be ready.
to be continued.
