Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

Chapter 1

Naruto looked square into the eyes of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. The man was just as he'd remembered: all wrinkles and greyed hair and robes. There was hardness in the old man's eyes that Naruto didn't remember, but Naruto was a child back then. Now, he was a grown man accusing his favorite adult of negligence.

The old Hokage's office seemed smaller to him than he remembered. This wasn't Naruto's office though. HIS office had been larger because he abused shadow clones like a red-headed step-child and had twenty desks. No, this was the office of Hiruzen Sarutobi, The Professor, The God of Shinobi, and the Third Hokage. That was the real difference, not the venue. The last time he'd seen the old man alive and in this office, Naruto had been a child. At least a foot shorter and a hundred pounds lighter. That alone made the room feel smaller.

Hiruzen Sarutobi blinked and rubbed his eyes as Naruto watched. Naruto had walked in carrying one of his father's three-pronged kunai and told the Old Man that they needed to talk in private. The kunai was now embedded in the Hokage's desk and a massive space-time barrier was encasing the office.

"Don't worry, Old Man. For the village, only a second will have passed when the barrier comes down. Take your time. I know it's a lot to take in," Naruto said with a smile. "And I only used minor paralysis seals on those ANBU."

Three of the four guards in the office were splayed out on the floor unconscious. The fourth was watching as if the Fourth Hokage had returned from the dead. All of them wore black pants with a flat purple armor vest and had a tattoo on their right shoulders. All of them wore different masks.

"You claim to be from the future and you claim to be Naruto Uzumaki. I'm having trouble reconciling your story with what I know about the nature of reality," Hiruzen calmly stated, still lost in thought.

"Would you like to know how I did it? I'll tell you the truth: it was easier to go back in time than it was to figure out how to mature my body without killing myself," Naruto responded.

The ANBU with a dog mask and spiky, silver hair remained motionless. The man claiming to be Naruto Uzumaki had disabled three elite shinobi in less time than it took to blink. His left eye, the sharingan that he'd received more than a decade ago, couldn't even follow the man's movements, let alone predict what he might do next. And the sheer size of his chakra reserves was almost blinding.

"I think that time travel is not a secret you should so willingly divulge," Hiruzen said. "But I will ask you to prove that you are who you say you are some other way. Perhaps if you told me something that only Naruto would know."

"Like what? I love ramen, especially from Ichiraku. I was orphaned on the night of the kyuubi attack because my father, Minato Namikaze, used a forbidden sealing technique to seal the yang half of the kyuubi into me while my mother, Kushina Uzumaki, used her body as a shield to protect me from the kyuubi who was trying to escape the sealing," Naruto rattled off.

"Or perhaps you'd like to know that your student, Jiraiya, is my godfather. Maybe about how Kakashi reads smutty romance novels. Or that since your wife died, you keep a secret stash of the very same novels in your desk."

Hiruzen frowned. "This is impossible," he muttered.

"If that doesn't convince you, I suppose we could discuss how I look almost identical to the Fourth Hokage. Or you could run a blood test," Naruto suggested.

Hiruzen shook his head, but then an idea came to him. "Show me your seal," Hiruzen demanded.

Naruto lifted his shirt, revealing the abs of a twenty-year-old who clearly spent a lot of time exercising. A small bit of chakra ran through his system, revealing the Uzumaki spiral surrounded by seal markings.

"When I get the key back, Kurama is going to want to talk to you about the attack, by the way," Naruto stated.

"Who…?" Hiruzen trailed as he examined the seal that he remembered with perfect clarity.

"The fox. He's not a bad guy. Mostly he's just really cranky and the seals that Mito and Kushina had were… harsh," Naruto answered.

The masked man cleared his throat. "Permission to speak, Lord Hokage," he said as the old man squinted at the seal on Naruto's stomach. Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand to give the man permission.

"I believe him. He has one of sensei's kunai. This barrier isn't a normal chakra barrier. It's as if nothing exists outside of the barrier. Only a space-time jutsu could do that and if he's skilled enough for this type of barrier, he could conceivably create a jutsu for travelling in time," the man explained.

"Actually, physically traveling through time is a lot more problematic than mentally traveling through time. It was a whole lot easier to figure out how to use a seal to make my body mature correctly than sending an object into the past. Information or a consciousness, on the other hand, is only slightly more complicated than teleportation. It's pretty similar to how shadow clones work, actually," Naruto trailed.

Hiruzen held up one hand and had the other rubbing the bridge of his nose. "That's enough. My head hurts just thinking about this. You've said enough and I've seen enough to believe that you are from the future," he said, walking back to his chair.

"Good. There are a few things that I need to take care of before I resume the role of this village's jinchuuriki," Naruto explained. "First, Danzo. He needs to retire or I'll kill him. He's breeding unrest with the Uchiha and I won't let the village massacre them again."

Kakashi stood silently while Hiruzen sighed, saying, "He's my oldest friend. I'll ask him to retire."

Naruto shook his head. "That's another problem. You're too old to do the job anymore. Recall Tsunade and Jiraiya. Let them figure out who the next Hokage will be, but let them handle the paperwork and the stress. Your talents would be better used at the Academy."

Hiruzen frowned angrily, but agreed. "I was too old ten years ago. That was the whole point of Minato taking over."

"Third point, Obito Uchiha," Naruto said, knowing that Kakashi would be affected deeply by what he was about to say. "He was not killed on the Kannabi Bridge mission. He was found by Madara Uchiha and his body parts were replaced with some sort of hybrid plant amalgam. I don't actually know much about those details, but he is alive and he was the one who attacked Kushina when she gave birth."

Naruto sighed, turning to the ANBU. "If I could have gone back that far, I would have. I checked with the medic-nins about neurological development. It seems that most people don't develop a complex enough brain to handle consciousness until around three or four years old, so that's my limit. Killing him that night would have prevented so much from going wrong. But then, Madara might have just waited for another vulnerable Uchiha to use in his plans. I don't really know.

"Kakashi, you've felt guilty all these years about Obito, but it wasn't your fault. Rin-"

"Shut up," the man coldly stated.

"No. You have to know this. Rin died because-"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" he screamed.

"NO! LISTEN!" Naruto retorted. "She died because this village doesn't teach about jinchuuriki. She didn't know that she could be saved because she only knew what the enemy wanted her to know. Her death was preventable and it certainly wasn't your fault, and had this village simply taught about jinchuuriki she wouldn't be dead. You barely know about jinchuuriki and you're one of the village's most elite jonin."

Hiruzen looked at the dog-masked man who was shaking with rage and then back at Naruto. "I assume you have a point here," the old man asked.

"Just reinforcing the previous one. You need to teach. You need to make sure that this village doesn't send its forces out unprepared," Naruto replied. "Not sit here like a bureaucrat."

Hiruzen nodded. Kakashi seemed to be calming down quickly.

"There are other matters that will require my attention, but they can wait until Jiraiya gets here. For now, priority one is Danzo and the Uchiha massacre," Naruto said. "I'll say this plainly so that there is no misunderstanding: if I even think that he might be considering usurping the authority of the Hokage, I will kill him. As far as I'm concerned, he's a mass-murdering monster who can't be redeemed and I have no problem ending him. But you are the Hokage, not me."

He walked over to the kunai stuck in the desk and pulled it out, ending the barrier and returning sunlight to the room. "I need to go have a few words with Hiashi Hyuuga. Send someone to get me when Jiraiya or Tsunade return, please?"

The Hokage nodded as his ANBU revived each other.

Naruto paused, softening. "It's really good to see you, old man. I've missed you," he said before traversing the office to the window.

Hiruzen thought that Naruto jumped out the window in a manner oddly reminiscent of Jiraiya as he leapt across rooftops toward the Hyuuga clan compound.

Naruto felt odd wearing standard jonin attire after wearing his dark orange and black clothes for so many years, but it wasn't as if he couldn't go shopping later. He had priorities and clothes just didn't top the list.

The Hyuuga compound was very open with a wall high enough that people couldn't see over without climbing and beautiful, but older architecture. It was quiet and reserved, much like the Hyuuga. Naruto burst through the gate screaming, "I got a bone to pick with Hiashi Hyuuga!"

Most of the residents didn't know what to make of the intruder. He acted like an idiot, but leapt like a ninja. Some thought he might be autistic and frowned with pity.

Naruto rushed straight into the main house of the compound, looking in just about every room before he found Hiashi. The clan head of the Hyuuga was not amused when Naruto interrupted his calligraphy.

"Yo! Lord Hiashi! We gotta talk," Naruto said as he entered the room.

Hiashi took a deep breath, pondering the benefits of simply killing the brash blonde who had disturbed the entire estate with his antics. Upon realizing the resemblance to the Fourth Hokage, he decided instant death wasn't called for. Yet.

"Who are you and what do you want. Answer quickly or I'll have you jailed," Hiashi calmly stated, not even turning to face Naruto. "Or possibly killed."

Naruto snorted, looking around the very sparsely decorated room. There were tatami mats making up most of the floor with only a few pillows on the ground for seating. Naruto realized that he hadn't quite thought this move through.

In the future, he had started dating Hinata when she was almost a jonin. Hiashi had never had any problems with him, but he was also a hero then.

"Your seal is broken," Naruto said, thinking of the idea at the last second.

"What?" Hiashi asked, stoically hiding just how appalled he was at the accusation.

"Well, it seems to me that your seal is supposed to protect your eyes, not enslave your family. I happen to be a seal master, so I thought I'd offer my services," Naruto bluffed lamely.

Hiashi didn't even pause before replying, "No," and waving Naruto away.

"One of your daughters is bound to be sealed," Naruto said, hoping to appeal to the man's emotions. Emotions he knew the man rarely showed, but had nonetheless. "Would you rather it be with a slave seal or a protection seal?"

Hiashi very slowly turned toward Naruto. "How do you know about my children?" the man nearly hissed.

"Can we say that I'm affiliated closely with this village and leave it at that?" Naruto said hopefully.

Hiashi moved fast. He nearly grabbed Naruto and would have shoved him into the wall if Naruto wasn't much faster. Hiashi saw a yellow flash and Naruto was on the other side of the room with his hands in front of him.

"Woah! Come on! I don't want to fight you. I'm just here because I don't like the way things are headed. I'm only trying to help you," Naruto explained, dodging a very angry Hyuuga patriarch.

After the fifth attempt, Hiashi realized that it was as useful to engage this man in combat as engaging the Fourth Hokage. "You have my attention…"

"Call me... Menma. I don't need any gossips finding out who I really am," Naruto replied. "First thing's first. Do you have enough power to stop your nephew from being re-sealed if I take his off?"

Hiashi shook his head. "It doesn't matter. You can't take it off without killing him," Hiashi responded.

"Why don't you let me worry about taking the seal off and you worry about any fallout. Just tell them that you're tinkering with the seal and want to use Neji as a test subject or something," Naruto explained. "It won't even be a lie."

Hiashi narrowed his eyes at the blonde, Fourth Hokage look-alike. "Why would you do this? What do you get out of it?"

Naruto sighed. "I made a promise to a woman. If I do nothing else for her while I'm here, I have to at least do this."

Hiashi silently activated his family's prized ocular jutsu to read the man before him and was shocked to see a chakra core that made the Hokage's look like a fresh genin. He could also tell that the man wasn't lying about the woman. Love does funny things to chakra. "Why do you have so much chakra? I am not aware of anyone in this village with reserves as large as yours," he finally asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Naruto smirked and said, "Trade secret."

If Naruto hadn't known Hiashi in the future, he would have missed the almost imperceptible tells that showed the patriarch was disappointed.

"Very well," Hiashi said as he waved for an attendant. "Instruct Neji to report to my private chambers at his earliest convenience," he said to the attendant before turning back to Naruto. "Be warned: if you harm him, I will put up a bounty so big that even with your speed, you won't escape."

"And please instruct him to pick up chakra ink and three large sealing scrolls on his way," Naruto called, ignoring the threat.

Naruto looked down at the young Hyuuga boy in front of him. The kid had the kind of stoicism that would make a Hyuuga proud, if such a thing were ever admitted.

"Eh. Hiashi?" Naruto called.

"Menma-san, please do your work," Hiashi said, seemingly unperturbed.

"Two things. First, Neji here is royally pissed right now and it's messing with my mojo. Second, your impatience is almost as palpable as your concern. I think, before we begin, you should tell him about how his father died," Naruto said.

"How do you—Nevermind," Hiashi said. "Neji, do you know how your father died?"

Neji calmly responded, "Of course. He was your twin. He was exchanged when you killed a kidnapper because the treaty with Kumogakure required it."

"There. See?" Hiashi said, going back to his ledger.

"Oh, for—Neji, your father chose to sacrifice himself because he loved his brother," Naruto explained. "It wasn't a matter of him being ordered or required to do it."

Hiashi glared at Naruto, but Neji turned to his uncle. "Is this true?" the boy asked.

Hiashi's glare softened as he turned to his nephew. "Yes. It's true," he said simply.

Neji was already angry, but now there was conflict that overrode the anger. So much so that he wasn't paying attention to Naruto. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice how much time had actually passed.

It took Naruto close to an hour to finish the seal and by then even Hiashi had gotten lost in it. Several parts of the seal were more complex than anything Hiashi had ever seen, let alone the seal in its entirety.

Naruto smiled. "Ready for the test?" he asked.

"Remember what I told you earlier," Hiashi said as darkly as his stoic façade would allow.

"Neji, please sit on that blank spot in the center," Naruto instructed. Neji nervously did as instructed.

Naruto performed thirty-seven hand signs, building chakra the whole time. "Uzumaki Sealing Technique: Seal Sealing Jutsu!" he said as Neji disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Hiashi looked on in horror as his nephew disappeared. His worst nightmares began playing from the time his daughter had been kidnapped. His heart skipped a beat as panic gripped him. And then Neji reappeared in the center of the sealing circle, which was no longer blank.

Naruto was smiling. "Told you I could do it," he said cockily.

Hiashi rose from his desk, frowning. "Neji, show me your seal," he commanded.

Neji removed the headband he wore to cover his seal, but instead of the accursed marking, Hiashi saw only a bare forehead. "How…? This should be impossible…" the patriarch gasped, visibly stunned.

Neji thought that it was some sort of elaborate prank. For some reason, Hiashi must be playing a cruel joke on him. The seal couldn't be removed. That was a fact.

Naruto smiled. "I'll let you keep that scroll once I'm done tinkering," Naruto responded. "I've got to trace out the errors and I need the scroll to do it."

Neji looked at the adults with a sliver of hope mixed with an unhealthy amount of anger. If this was a joke, he was not amused.

Naruto turned to the boy and winked. "Nothing is set in stone, Neji. Remember that," he said as he rolled up the scroll. He turned to Hiashi and said, "I've got a meeting with Jiraiya as soon as he gets back in town. I should be done by then, but on the off chance that I'm not, I'll leave this with the Hokage."

Neji looked into a mirror and activated his own Byakugan once the strange blonde man left. Hiashi was doing the same, verifying that the seal had indeed been removed. Neji's hand traced where it had been on his forehead and simply whispered, "How…" Meanwhile, Hiashi looked for and didn't find the faintest trace of the seal.

"I don't know…" Hiashi whispered, still shocked.

Naruto sat in his tiny apartment and looked over the scroll he'd used to seal the Caged Bird Seal. The scroll was a diagnostic tool that allowed him to break down the Caged Bird Seal and tinker with all of the pieces. He'd already figured out where the suicide subroutine had been changed into a pain/death subroutine.

The whole seal was truly in need of cleaning up. It was a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy that went back at least ten iterations. Naruto was already three quarters finished when an ANBU agent appeared in his window.

Without lifting his head from his work, Naruto stated, "I'm busy. Unless Jiraiya is back or the village is being attacked, go away."

"You have angered the wrong people, whoever you are," the ANBU said, slowly unsheathing a tanto.

Naruto sighed. "There are eight of you. I'm in no mood for interruptions and I could care less about Danzo and his little cadre's feelings. If you leave now, I won't pursue you. Otherwise, you will wake up in Ibiki's chair," he intoned, not looking up as the eight ANBU crept closer. "This is your only warning."

The seven invisible ANBU froze, looking to the one in the window for instructions. The one in the window indicated to continue the mission and then they were all unconscious. Naruto sighed as he sealed all eight into the one spare scroll he had and went back to work. He was almost finished, after all.

Naruto finished altering the Caged Bird Seal just as the sun rose. He had fixed the suicide control switch so that only the bearer could activate it instead of another Hyuuga using specific chakra resonance from certain hand-signs. He had fixed the always-visible hack-job and made it so that it was always invisible unless the bearer put chakra into it. He had added several fail-safes and fixed several that had been damaged at some point in the copying that had been done throughout the years.

He decided to rename it the Hyuuga Firewall Seal. Not the cleverest of names, but seal work and computer programming were so similar that it sometimes hurt his head that ninjas never learned both. Even Jiraiya hadn't bothered with it, although he hadn't had a chance to ask him why before the old pervert had died in the original timeline.

Naruto gathered the three scrolls and quickly made his way to the Hyuuga compound. He had lost track of time and couldn't remember if he'd spent one night or three working on the seal, but he'd only had the one interruption, so that didn't really help.

The Hyuuga guards looked on questioningly and an eight-year-old Hinata watched with a quirked brow and whispered something that he would have heard in Sage-mode. Oh well. Work to be done.

Naruto presented Hiashi with both scrolls: the original and his new version. Hiashi was barely awake and didn't look pleased to see Naruto in his bedroom.

"I finished working and Jiraiya isn't here yet, so you're welcome to both of them. Feel free to use the diagnostic mode on both scrolls. It's an idea I came up with after a mission that involved… well, you probably don't care. Feel free to try it out on Neji or yourself, for that matter. I've got to drop off some prisoners and then I think I'm gonna pass out for a while. Later," Naruto rambled to the only semi-conscious Hyuuga patriarch.

Naruto disappeared in a yellow flash, reappearing in the Hokage's office. He was coming down off of his sealer's high, so he didn't pay much attention to who was already there. He noticed Hiruzen, dropped the scrolls, muttered, "Prisoners for Ibiki," and passed out on the couch.

Jiraiya looked at the man and managed a quiet, "What the fuck?" before Naruto fully lost consciousness.