A/N: Update Date: 6/26/10. For those wondering about my other fic, They Were Legends, I WILL update it. Right now, however, I'm focusing on this, both due to the fact that I'm more in the mood to write about family than nonstop action and because this story is much more popular.

I'm also going to be playing with the timeline a bit, as well as canon plot, for creative reasons. Besides claiming creative freedom with this, I emphasize that Naruto and Co's arrival and actions have already changed things.

A note to those who reviewed and answered my questions from last chapter: Thank you! I really appreciated the comments, and this chapter was written today because of them.

Those of you who have this story on alert/favorites: PLEEEAAAASSEEEE review! It means so much, and makes me write more, and write it faster.

Enjoy!

Chapter 4: Answers and Truthful Lies

"So how have I never seen you before, let alone heard about you?" Minato asked. The remaining six Konoha shinobi were guarding the Iwa prisoners while waiting for requested reinforcements to handle the processing.

Because I'm your long lost son from the future, Dad. On second thought, perhaps it's time for plan B… "Because I didn't even know my true surname until about a year ago, and I've been in ANBU since I was a little kid." Close enough.

Minato sighed. I can't believe I actually had family all this time, and never knew. But…how? "So how exactly are we related? I know you can't be my brother; my parents were killed when I was young. I never knew about an uncle, but…"

"I'm not sure myself. But given the similarities in how we look, and our surnames…I think cousin is probably the only way to put it." Well, other than son from the future. Can't forget THAT possibility.

A short silence followed before the Yellow Flash recalled something else he had heard earlier. "Wait, you said you were in ANBU since you were little? How did that happen?"

Uh oh. "I guess I just made the cut. One of the people who took care of me when I was an orphan was in ANBU, and I looked up to him." Did I mention that that ANBU was your student?

That answer seemed to satisfy him. "It looks like it might take a while for reinforcements to show up…why don't you tell me about yourself?"

Well , thought Naruto, this should be interesting…

00.000.00

Deciding to rendezvous with the rest of Team Minato before heading back home, the three ninja accompanying Kakashi were heading towards the once-heated battlefield.

"You said you were a friend of my father's?" asked the younger Kakashi.

"You could say that. I was your father's brother. I hope we were at least friends."

"My uncle? But…my father never mentioned a brother."

"You were very young when Sakumo died. And…we haven't seen each other in a very long time." That part is all too true.

"What happened to your eye?" asked Rin. Apparently, the medic-nin had noticed the striking resemblance.

Now for the hard part. "An old injury from a battle. It's not something I like to talk about." Also true.

The younger Kakashi was starting to put the pieces together. This is too weird…he has the same mask, same hair, same 'missing' eye…but what else could it be? I DO look almost exactly like my father, so maybe my uncle would have the same issue.

"What's your name, by the way?" asked the kunoichi.

"Hatake Shigure."

00.000.00

In the morning breeze, Kushina stared off into the northwestern horizon. She had heard rumors of the worst kind, rumors that said her beloved Minato had been killed in the face of an Iwa army. He and his team had yet to return, and they were taking far longer than the few days Minato had promised they'd be gone. Even she was starting to fear the worst…

You better come back, Minato-baka. I can't marry you when you're dead.

00.000.00

Naruto didn't use to be the most observant of people. Far from it, actually. But years training with a decorated war veteran and many life-and-death battles had forced him into the habit of picking up on little hints.

So when his sensei jumped into the clearing next to him with a younger Kakashi in tow, Naruto decided to wait and see how his sensei reacted. He didn't have to wait long.

"Minato-san, I'm Hatake Shigure, part of your team's backup. The destruction of Kanabi Bridge is complete."

Minato-san? thought Naruto. So he's probably doing the same thing I am. I should give him a hint as well. "About time you made it, Shigure-sempai. Though I guess I should thank you, seeing as I had some time to catch up with my new cousin."

The taller blond wasn't completely convinced, however. "Hatake? I wasn't aware there was another Hatake in the village. And your resemblance to Kakashi is…uncanny."

"I haven't been in contact with my brother, Sakumo, for a long time. And I've been an ANBU operative for most of my life. By all means, you shouldn't know about me. And as for the resemblance…well, it seems to run in the family. Just ask Kakashi-kun." Queue another pout from the young jounin.

"Kakashi, what happened to your eye? And is Obito alright?"

"I'm afraid my eye's beyond repair, sensei. And Obito will be okay, he just needs some recovery time."

"Well, if your eye is damaged, then we seem to have quite a few replacements to choose from…" Minato said, gesturing to the many corpses that littered the battlefield.

Naruto stared at his father in shock. Since when was my father this morbid? The elder Kakashi picked up on Naruto's expression quickly.

"Such is the nature of war. If it's any consolation, I think we should leave our enemy's corpses alone; Konoha shinobi sign an agreement that allows such a thing to take place. It's one more way they can help their comrades, even in death." The older Kakashi seemed to mull this over for a few moments, before continuing, "though this presents a unique opportunity. Are there any Uchiha among the casualties?"

It was Rin's turn to have a shocked expression. "You don't mean…"

"I do. Trust me, the benefits would make any drawbacks worth it. Though it does depend on what you think about the matter, Kakashi-kun."

The silver-haired teen looked down as all eyes turned to him. He considered what it would be like to appear cycloptic the rest of his life, recalling how Shigure himself looked. Actually, he thought, that's probably exactly how I'd look like in a decade or two. And to have the Sharingan… Kakashi looked over to his teammate.

Obito spoke up, his voice still weak. "If you want to, do it. I'd hate to surpass you while you blame the whole thing on my Sharingan."

They both smiled at that. "Well, if there are any, I'll do it."

"I'll start the procedure as soon as you're ready," said Rin.

Minato turned to his 'cousin.' "Naruto, do you think your clones can find one?"

Hating the idea of such a task, but knowing why it was so important, Naruto reluctantly agreed. I guess now Kakashi can have his cake and eat it too.

One eye-transplant later, Team Minato set up camp while Kakashi and Naruto's shadow clone army stood guard. Deciding that it was time to set their story straight, the two headed to a secluded area.

"What did you tell Minato-sensei?" asked Kakashi.

"I told him that my name is Namikaze Naruto, and he assumed that I was his cousin. There doesn't seem to be any other way to explain it. What about you?"

"I told them that I was my father's brother, and they seem to buy it. At least for now, anyway. Anything else that might have given you away?"

"Well…" Naruto scratched the back of his head as he laughed nervously. "You see, I sort of…um…kind of used the Rasenshuriken."

Kakashi stared at his student with a look that said, 'You've GOT to be kidding me. And yet I'm not the least bit surprised.' "Anything else?"

Naruto fidged even more, mirroring an old habit of Hinata's. "Eh…well…I sort of used mass shadow clones…"

Kakashi face-palmed. "Fine. As long as there wasn't anything els—"

"And Sage Mode."

Kakashi banged his head on a nearby rock. Multiple times. "Naruto, do you have ANY idea how hard that is going to be to explain? Jiraiya is the ONLY person who can use Sage Mode at this time. Hell, in our time, YOU were the only person after him capable of it. The only way to explain that is to say you have been Jiraiya's long time student. Do you realize how risky that is?"

"Erm…Ero-sennin hasn't even met me yet in this time?"

"Exactly. And I'm pretty sure Minato-sensei is going to talk to Jiraiya-sama the first thing when he gets back. And guess what? I'm also pretty sure that Minato-sensei knows how to find his sensei much better than we do."

Naruto laughed nervously yet again. "Well…maybe I could use the toads to get in contact with him?"

"Well, it's worth a shot."

"Alright! Here we go, summoning jutsu!" There was a puff of smoke, and then…nothing. "EH?"

"As I feared. Since you technically haven't been born yet, there's no way you've signed the summoning contract."

"Oh." The blond considered this for a moment. "Oh…dammit."

"Well, look on the bright side."

"Huh?" replied the teen.

"Minato-sensei seems to have bigger things to deal with at the moment."

00.000.00

"It's ironic, you know."

The Not-So-Last-Uchiha looked up at his ex-teammate.

She continued, "you were much more talkative when you were an evil, stupid idiot than when you were actually the nice Sasuke I used to know."

Sasuke snorted at that, before revealing a hint of a smirk. This did not go unnoticed by Sakura.

"I know something that might cheer you up," she said. Sasuke looked back up at her, curiously. "At this point in time, the Uchiha Massacre hasn't happened yet. Your family is still alive."

For some reason, Sasuke never even thought about that. He had given his family so little thought outside of the perspective of revenge that he had never even considered the possibility of ever seeing them again. His shocked expression was all the confirmation that the pink-haired kunoichi needed. "So, the whole reason for your twisted revenge is alive and kicking, and still will be for some time. You can either make the most of that, or continue brooding in a prison cell. Your choice."

She untied Sasuke's bonds and stood up to leave the room. "Oh, and in case you're wondering, Itachi would be a baby at this point. Food for thought."

With that, she closed the door.

00.000.00

The next morning, the Iwa shinobi set about gathering the corpses and performing burials, while the Konoha Shinobi did the same for their side. "I want you all to know," said Minato, "that a memorial will be built here in due time. For both sides." This gesture meant a lot to the Iwa nin, who were feeling bitter at the sheer amount of burials being performed in a single morning.

Rin tended to the wounded while Kakashi tried to keep Minato from asking the dreaded and obvious question, 'Are you Jiraiya-sensei's student?' to Naruto. At one point, Minato ended up asking how 'Shigure' knew so much about how the Sharingan would work when implanted into a non-Uchiha. After thinking for a moment, 'Shigure' decided to tell the truth.

Somewhat. "Because I too have a Sharingan implanted in my eye." To prove this, he moved his hitai-ate up, revealing his fully developed Sharingan.

Minato was momentarily stunned. "But…how? I've never heard of something like that before."

"It happened on a mission, a long time ago. My teammate was an Uchiha, and he was fatally wounded. My eye had been injured, and my teammate decided to give his Sharingan to me as his final act." The pain of reliving those past memories was still there, but Kakashi noted that his heart no longer felt guilt when recalling them. I guess it never happened except in my memory now. Then why does it still get to me like this?

"I'm sorry."

Kakashi turned to his sensei. "Hm? For what? It wasn't your fault. Besides, I think I've finally come to terms with it…"

Two days later, the requested reinforcements showed up to transport and process the prisoners. Deciding that there was strength in numbers, and such a transport would be especially vulnerable, Minato and his companions decided to walk back to Konoha. Kakashi, however, had slightly different plans.

"Naruto," he said, "you should go ahead to Konoha and report what has happened to the Hokage. It will also speed the processing of the prisoners up." Which of course meant, 'Naruto, get your ass to Konoha ASAP, find Jiraiya, and clean up this mess that you started, NOW.'

"You got it." Naruto was all-too-eager to get out of dodge. His father couldn't question him if he wasn't there.

"On second thought, I should probably go as well," said Kakashi.

Minato turned to his 'cousin' and 'Shigure' with a sad look. Naruto realized that he didn't want to say goodbye to his new 'cousin' so soon. Then again, thought Naruto, neither do I. But Kakashi-sensei would put me through one thousand years of death if I stayed, so…

"Very well. We'll see you both in Konoha, right?"

Naruto nodded, and everyone said their goodbyes before parting ways.

00.000.00

Arriving at the northern gates within a day, Naruto and Kakashi flashed the guards the papers the Sandaime had given them to avoid any incidents, such as the one that started this whole mess. They arrived at the Hokage's office within a few minutes.

"Go ahead. Hokage-sama has been expecting you," said the ANBU guard.

Hiruzen looked upon the strangers with uneasiness. Have they let the secret out?

"Hokage-sama, mission complete. Kanabi Bridge has been destroyed, and the Iwa forces have been defeated and taken prisoner, with the group heading back as we speak," reported Kakashi.

Relief washed over Hiruzen's face. The news was all that he could have hoped for, and more. Well, time for the…sensitive part. He weaved a few hand seals, and several seals imprinted in the office glowed for a moment. "This room is now sound-secure, just like before. Now, I need to know two things. One, whether or not anyone else is aware of your…circumstances. And two, your whole story, from the beginning. In that order, please."

Naruto spoke up this time. "We don't think anyone is aware of our 'circumstances,' as you put it, but we had to use cover stories. The only problem is that you'll need to find and summon Jiraiya-sensei right now. I'm supposed to be a student of his."

Hiruzen sighed at that. "You are trying to avoid suspicion, and you claim to be a student of Jiraiya of the Sannin?"

"Well, it's true. I AM a student of his." To prove this, Naruto quickly formed a Rasengan in his hand. The Sandaime's eyes widened for a few moments.

Well, he thought, any doubts I had about them not being spies are probably moot now, considering that this teen just performed an A-rank jutsu that only two people know. "Very well, I'll send for him as soon as we finish out little chat."

"You should also know that we are going by the names of Hatake Shigure and Namikaze Naruto, and it would be best for my companions to know that immediately," said Kakashi.

"Namikaze? You're a descendent of Minato?"

"His son," Kakashi replied.

"Well, that would certainly explain a lot. Anything else I should know?"

"We have both been in ANBU since we were little, until recently."

"Okay. I'll make the necessary documents. Before you begin your story, however, how exactly did you get here?"

Naruto and Kakashi looked at each other before the blond spoke up. "I'm calling it right now. Sasuke-teme did it."

Kakashi sighed. This was going to be a long day.

00.000.00

After a lengthy explanation, Kakashi went to check in with the rest of Team 7 while Naruto decided to wait at the northern gates. Kakashi told him that they wouldn't arrive for another couple days at least, but Naruto didn't care, and Kakashi acted like his old self and merely shrugged.

Naruto lost track of time while he stood on top of the village wall, staring out towards Iwa. Seeing his father alive, and talking to him had been a crazy experience. In a way, Naruto had fulfilled a childhood dream of his: to fight alongside the legendary Yondaime Hokage and earn his acknowledgement. He felt like he had just found something he had been missing his whole life, or filled a hole in his heart that he didn't even know was there. His musings carried on into the night, and for once Naruto didn't think about stopping for ramen while in the village.

"Are you waiting for someone, too?"

Naruto, shaken from his thoughts, turned around to see something that nearly made him fall over the edge of the wall in surprise. There, standing right in front of him, was his mother. He did his best to not look like he'd just seen a ghost, and addressed the newcomer. "Umm, yeah. I went on ahead to report to the Hokage, but the rest of my team should arrive in a couple days. Still, I needed some time to think."

"Rest of the team?" she asked. Kushina heart lightened, if only slightly, at the hope that this teen in front of her knew what happened to her love. "Was…umm…Namikaze Minato one of your teammates, by chance?"

Naruto smiled. This was something that he had not anticipated at all. "Yeah."

Kushina seemed about to burst. All she needed now was confirmation. "Is he okay?" she asked, in a rushed voice that did little to hide the anxiety she was feeling.

"Yes, he's fine."

The red-head let a tear escape her eye before wiping it away. "Thank goodness…thank you. Thank you…"

Seeing his mother like this nearly brought a tear to Naruto's eye, as well. They really love each other. "No need to thank me. I'm sure Minato would have kicked Iwa's butt whether I was there or not. Because that's exactly what he did. A little TOO well, I might add.

"Regardless, thank you for being the bearer of great news. What is your name, if I may ask?"

Well, here goes nothing. "Namikaze Naruto."

The surprise on her face was something he'd better get used to, Naruto mused. "What? Minato-kun never mentioned that he had family before…"

He technically DOESN'T, at least not yet. "That's because I didn't even know we WERE family until recently. And he didn't know about me at all. Which isn't his fault, in case you were thinking that."

"Oh…oh! I'm sorry. I never gave you my name. Uzumaki Kushina."

Technically, Mom, you DID give me my name. Seventeen years ago."It's nice to meet you." You have no idea how nice, Mom.

"Likewise."

Naruto had a question nagging at him in the back of his mind, and there was only one way to answer it. "Say, Kushina, would you like to grab some ramen? I haven't eaten dinner yet."Come on, I NEED to know. Where did I get my ramen addiction from?

"I'd love to. Come on, I know this great place downtown. My treat."

00.000.00

After a quick knock, Kakashi entered the suite where his team was staying. He saw Sasuke sitting on the couch, looking at the floor like it was the most interesting thing in the world, Sakura reading a book, and Hinata and Sai talking. All turned to face him when he entered.

"Kakashi-sensei? What happened? Where's Naruto?" asked Sakura.

After filling them in on the events of the last couple days, Kakashi turned to Sasuke. "As for how we ended up in the past…any explanation, Sasuke? None of Naruto's techniques are capable of something like that, which leaves you."

"Hn," replied Sasuke. "Well…there is a technique I have, which I tried to use, that allows me to go back a few seconds in time, but nothing like this. It requires a lot of chakra to use, and only affects me."

Sakura turned to her teammate in feign surprise. "Wow, Sasuke, I think that's the most you've spoken at one time without saying the words 'revenge' or 'pain' since…ever?"

The Uchiha answered with a grunt. "Well, I guess that would explain it," said Kakashi.

Everyone looked up at him. "Your technique, whatever it was, worked. It just worked TOO well. My guess is that the chakra from Naruto's technique somehow got added into your technique, and instead of a few seconds, we got several years."

Sasuke wasn't so sure. "There's no way that much chakra could have been used."

"This is Naruto and the Kyuubi we're talking about, Sasuke. And the most powerful technique I've ever seen."

"Hn."

Sakura raised her fist very threateningly. "Sasuke, I swear, if you grunt, say 'hn,' or snort ONE MORE TIME, I'm going to punch you back to the future!"

Sasuke gulped at that.

00.000.00

Naruto was overjoyed when he saw that Ichiraku Ramen still existed this far into the past. His mother led him to the stand, stopped just outside the entrance. "This is the best ramen stand in the world." She paused, blushing a bit before continuing. "I warn you though, I'm an animal when it comes to eating ramen."

Mystery solved. "Care for a wager?" he aksed.

"Hm?"

"Whoever eats more ramen doesn't have to pay the bill."

She raised an eyebrow and smirked at that, no doubt thinking how she had unknowingly suckered the teen into paying for her meal. Naruto, she thought, I may not look like it, but I can even out-eat an Akimichi when it comes to ramen. I'm sorry, but it looks like you're going to be paying a hefty sum tonight. "You're on."

They entered the stand and Kushina yelled out, "start us off with three bowls each, Teuchi-san!"

A/N: PLEASE REVIEW! For those who do, if you want to, I have a few questions for you to answer:

1) How are the character interactions in this chapter?

2) Is everything relatively believable so far?

3) Do you like where this story is heading?

4) Is anyone OOC in an unbelievable way?

As for what I mentioned above, Naruto and Co's arrival and actions have already changed things. Minato's delayed return, for example, causes Kushina to worry. In turn, she follows the same methodology as many couples do during a time of war: she wants to get married or progress the relationship quicker, rather than slower, because one of them may die before they know it. You'll see more stuff like this later on.