Future Or Fantasy

by Basic Trainer

There are many things in life beyond a person's understanding, this is one of those things. Naruto went to bed as the Hokage and woke up as a twelve year old in a forest, was it all a dream, a Genjutsu or time travel? One way or another he was going to find out.

4. Chapter 4

Before we get to the chapter there's something I need to say. I got a review that I feel needs to be addressed.

Yet another generic naruto goes back in time to save the future fanfic.
Naruto is more badass
Naruto takes initiative and dates hinata
Every One grows stronger.
Naruto saves sasuke
Sigh...no good fanfics to read at all.

I just feel the need to point a couple of things out

1) It's been said a few times in the story so far that time travel is impossible.

2) Even fanfic that has Naruto as the main character makes him more badass.

3) Hinata hasn't appeared except for the short future piece at the beginning and I haven't decided whether I'm going to go forward with the canon pairing or not.

4) Same as number 2, it's the done thing to make everyone stronger.

5) As I've written in a previous chapter Naruto hasn't decided on whether saving Sasuke is something that should be done or not.

And finally

6) There's no need to have a pop at how I write a story, if you don't like it don't say anything.

With that of my chest, here's chapter 4

Chapter 4

Dancing with the Demon

"Fuck is right." Zabuza chuckled lowly before turning his attention to Kakashi as the Jonin stood up with Team 7 and Tazuna following his example. "You know the drill, right? Hand over the old man, you and the kids can walk away. Nothing personal, just business, you understand." The Demon of the Mist let his killing intent flood the area surrounding the team, Sakura went pale and started to shake while Sasuke froze in place, shock etched into his features. Tazuna looked just as shocked as Sasuke, his eyes flicked around, looking for an escape route. As for Naruto, he simply looked unimpressed as he scratched his ear with his little finger.

"What's wrong with the brat?" Zabuza asked Kakashi, towards Naruto. "He should be a mess."

"I felt worse the first time I pranked the Old Man." The blonde replied, a slight shiver running down his spine as he remembered the feeling.

Around the team bushes rustled as a band of men rose into view, Naruto counted ten and knew that Haku would still be somewhere nearby watching. Gently guiding Sakura behind him, Naruto kept his focus on Zabuza. The men surrounding them were just standard thugs, mostly likely hired by Gato. They wouldn't be much of a problem for himself, Sasuke and Sakura to deal with, that was if they hadn't been paralysed by Zabuza's KI.

"I appreciate the offer but unfortunately I have to decline. Our mission is to protect this man and it would look bad if we failed, you understand." Kakashi replied, his voice and posture showing he was completely unfazed by the fact he and his team were outnumbered and surrounded. Zabuza nodded and sighed as he ran a hand through his short black hair.

"Yeah, I understand. Can't say I'm surprised though and to be honest I was hoping for this to happen." The Demon of the Mist grinned under the bandages that covered his mouth. "I've always wanted to see how I stacked up against the infamous Copy Ninja."

One of the thugs ran up, kicking Naruto to the side while he was distracted and lifted Sakura by the collar of her dress.

"Hey boys let's just kill them all and get this over with." The thug lifted the scared stiff Sakura to take a proper look at her. "Massive forehead this one." Unconscious reflex made Sakura's arm swing around and back-fist the thug across the jaw. The thug staggered but kept his grip on the pinkette. "Feisty, we'll see how long that lasts. She's not much to look at guys but we can still have some fun later." The man didn't get a chance to say or do anything else as Zabuza flickered in to existence behind him and the thug's head toppled off his neck, blood spurting into the air as his body fell and released his hold on Sakura. A kunai hit the head as it started to fall, tracking the trajectory back found Naruto's outstretched arm. Kakashi's eyebrow rose as he saw no hesitation in Naruto's throw or the expression on his face, what really caught Kakashi's attention was the look in Naruto's eyes. They held the gaze of an experienced shinobi, something else that wasn't expected from the renowned troublemaker. Kakashi filed this piece of information away for later as right now wasn't the time to deal with it.

What happened to only when necessary? Kurama asked, his grin easily heard in the tone of his voice.

Not the time. Naruto replied as he kept his focus on Zabuza, in case he made a move against Sakura.

"I'll only say this once. We are monsters, not scum. Women are spared!" Zabuza snarled, glaring at the remaining thugs. "Am I clear?!" Hasty nods came from the thugs as they knew what would happen to them. "Blondie, get up here and take the girl." Slowly Naruto approached, keeping his senses on high alert but Zabuza didn't move an inch as he picked up Sakura in a princess carry and retreated without turning around.

"Naruto, get Tazuna and the others out of here." Kakashi ordered. "I'll take care of Zabuza, think you can make it through the others?"

"Can I?" Naruto smirked, placed Sakura on the ground behind him, turned to face the remaining thugs, cracked his fingers and formed his favourite handsign. A horde of clones popped into existence around him. "Sic 'em." All the clones grinned evilly and charged at the thugs surrounding them with a war cry, drawing weapons as they went. Naruto spun, picked up Sakura and started running, slapping Sasuke's face as he passed. "Come on Sasuke, grab Tazuna and follow me. New orders, protect the client at all cost!"

Sasuke shook his head as he snapped out of the haze from Zabuza's KI and chased after Naruto, grasping Tazuna's wrist and dragging the old man behind him. They ran through a gap in the ring of thugs made by Naruto's clones, dropping a few smoke bombs behind them.

Kakashi kept his eyes fixed on Zabuza but the Demon of the Mist didn't move an inch as he watched Naruto lead the others away.

"Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Mist." Kakashi said, drawing the Rogue-Nin's attention. "I feel like I should thank you for what do did for my students."

"Don't." Zabuza replied, dismissing Kakashi with an uninterested flick of his hand. "Scum like that needs to be dealt with before it can spread. I hate bastards like that, I did to get him out of my sight. Nothing more, nothing less." Zabuza pointed his sword at Kakashi. "Now Copy Ninja, let's see who's better." The former Kiri-Nin charged forward as Kakashi dropped into a fighting stance and drew a kunai.

Meanwhile

Tazuna stood with his back against a tree and panted for breath as Sasuke stood guard over him and Naruto used some Shadow Clones to make sure they were safe. While the clones searched the area, the original was knelt next to Sakura and cleaning away the blood from the thug earlier, he didn't want to snap her out of Zabuza's KI and have her freak out due to being splattered in blood. Once he'd finished cleaning her face and what he could out of her hair Naruto put a hand on her shoulder and sent a small pulse of charka into her body. Sakura's eyes widened and her mouth opened to scream but Naruto quickly slapped his hand over her mouth.

"Sakura, it's okay. You're safe, I'm going to take my hand away now so don't scream…okay?" The blonde asked softly, watching the panic and fear in her eyes slowly fade away he waited until he eventually got a small nod from the pinkette, gently taking his hand off her mouth.

"W-what happened?" Sakura asked. "I remember that guy with the sword asking us to hand over Tazuna and then…"

"He released his killing intent to scare us." Naruto explained.

"How do you know what it was?" Sasuke grunted.

"Hanging around the Old Man, I picked up a few things." Naruto stood up and brushed some dirt off his pants. "You guys stay here and protect Tazuna, I'm going back to help Kakashi-Sensei."

"I'm coming too." A trio of stares snapped to Sakura's face as she slowly got to her feet. "We heard what Kakashi-Sensei said last night. People who abandon their comrades are worse than scum." She smoothed out her dress and then looked at her hands when she felt them grow wet. Lifting her hands Sakura stared at the blood on her palms before turning her gaze to Naruto, the blonde quickly explained what happened and watched as Sakura's hands closed into fists and her head lowered to stare at the ground. They stood in silence for a minute before Sakura spoke again. "Did you mean what you said last night?"

"Huh?"

"About me being a great kunoichi if I stopped being a fangirl?"

"Er…you heard that?" Naruto took a nervous step back out of reflex more than conscious thought. "I know what I said sounded bad but…"

"Just tell me, did you mean it?" Sakura lifted her head and fixed Naruto with a focused stare.

"…Yes. I know you can be an amazing kunoichi but you need to train more."

"And stop being a fangirl for Sasuke."

"Yeah…that too." Naruto said quietly not meeting her eyes.

"Then this is my first step to being better. We need to go and help Kakashi-Sensei, lead the way."

Naruto spawned a horde of clones and tasked them to protect Tazuna as he, Sakura and Sasuke ran back to the sounds of battle.

Stopping in some bushes, they watched as Kakashi and Zabuza fought on the surface of the nearby lake. The two shinobi were battling back and forth, dodging each other's blades and launching jutsu whenever they had the opportunity.

"You live up to your reputation Kakashi but I was expecting more, now show me you can live up to your name. Fight me with your Sharingan." Zabuza laughed as he flew into a series of spinning slashes. Sasuke tensed as he heard the name of his clan's Kekkei Genkai and started to growl lowly as he heard Zabuza continue speaking. "Show me you have the eye of a thief, the Uchiha were a group of thieves with no skill except for what they stole from those they fought. The only Uchiha that even deserves the genius title that clan of fakes gave themselves is Itachi, now he's a shinobi."

Naruto's arm shot out to grab hold of Sasuke and he managed to hold his teammate back for a few minutes as Kakashi lifted his hitai-ate to reveal his Sharingan. Keeping Sasuke in place was hard and Naruto was forced to release his hold on the Uchiha after being punched in a pressure point. Sasuke leapt out of their hiding place and charged towards Zabuza at full speed yelling at the top of his lungs, anger burning in his eyes. Naruto was about to follow but Kakashi was already on an intercept course and pushed Sasuke out of the way a split second before Zabuza would've trapped the Uchiha in a Water Prison. The downside of Kakashi's actions were that he was now trapped in the Water Prison. Sasuke jumped to his feet and was about to charge again when Naruto tackled him to the ground.

"Don't be an idiot!" Naruto shouted, slapping Sasuke across the face with the back of his hand. "He knew we were there and said that to get you riled up. Kakashi-Sensei's trapped now because of you!" A sharp crack rang out as another slap connected. "Get your head out of your ass and think!" Naruto stood up and turned to stare down Zabuza.

"Naruto, get out of here and take Tazuna back to the village. That's an order!" Kakashi yelled from within the Water Prison.

"No way." Naruto replied, not taking his gaze from Zabuza as a Water Clone formed between them. "We are shinobi of Konohagakure, we don't abandon our comrades." His hands rose and formed a handsign as Sakura drew a kunai and Sasuke got to his feet. Twenty clones appeared in a puff of smoke and charged the Water Clone, Naruto handed a folded up Fuma shuriken to Sasuke. "Let him have it." Sakura stayed back throwing kunai and shuriken whenever she saw an opening, she did little more than annoy the Water Clone but it was a start to her getting stronger.

Sasuke took the Fuma shuriken and nodded, flicking his wrist and letting the weapon unfold, taking a step forwards and spinning on the ball of his foot Sasuke used the momentum of the spin to add power to his throw. The Fuma shuriken curved around the Water Clone and headed towards Zabuza.

"Really? You think that'll work." Zabuza snorted, glancing at Kakashi. "The Hidden Leaf's really lowered its standards if this is the best they can do." Swinging Kubikiribōchō around, Zabuza deflected the shuriken and leapt over the second that was hidden in the first's shadow.

The second passed underneath Zabuza harmlessly and travelled a few feet away before transforming back into Naruto. Naruto threw a kunai at the hand holding Kakashi in the Water Prison. The plan was working just as he remembered, that was until Zabuza's foot shot out and he effectively grabbed the kunai with his chakra and flicked it away. Naruto landed in the lake and quickly started swimming back to the shore, as Zabuza landed on the water surface again he once more jumped into the air, avoiding a Shadow Clone that had entered the lake a short distance away from the battle and had attempted to stab Zabuza in the foot. A quick stab and the Shadow Clone dispelled but it had diverted Zabuza's attention long enough for Naruto to get back to the shoreline and be sliced in two by the Water Clone. Naruto dispelled in a cloud of smoke as did his other clones leaving the original along with Sakura and Sasuke facing the Water Clone.

"Not bad blondie, no way in hell that'd work but not bad." Zabuza smirked. "What are you going to do now?"

Naruto threw a handful of smoke-bombs on the ground, hiding the trio from sight. A shower of kunai shot out of the smoke and as Zabuza effortlessly blocked them he triggered a second barrage of smoke-bombs with a couple of added annoyances from Naruto's pranking supplies that had been attached to the weapons.

Zabuza fought his need to sneeze and rub his eyes thanks to the pepper and chili powder mixed in with the smoke, he felt something disturb the chakra of his Water Prison. The kid can't be trying that. The rogue ninja thought as he tried to fight the disturbance but couldn't.

"Damn, how much chakra does this kid have?" Zabuza grunted before feeling a chill flash through his blood as he remembered the last time he'd gone up against someone with this much chakra. He's a jinchurikki. Zabuza thought as he felt the disturbance end a swing of his enormous sword cleared the enough of the smoke cloud to reveal the grinning face of Naruto sitting in the Water Prison.

"Yo." Naruto greeted with a small wave.

Looking back to the shore Zabuza saw a thoroughly soaked Kakashi standing where Naruto had been, the blonde had really pulled of a Kawarimi with the Jonin.

"Alright blondie, I'm impressed. You've got a pair of brass ones for pulling that off, doesn't change the fact that you're my…What the hell are you laughing for?!" Zabuza demanded as Naruto broke into a full belly laugh. Hearing snickering from the shore Zabuza looked as saw Sakura giggling as Sasuke fought to keep himself composed and even though nearly all of Kakashi's face was hidden away it was still easily spotted that the Jonin was grinning. Now that the smokescreen had cleared fully Zabuza caught sight of something shining from the corner of his eye, looking for the source he found he was looking at his own skin or more specifically glitter that was coating his body. "What the…?"

"Naruto is known for his pranking ability back in Konoha, it seems like you're his first victim outside of the village." Kakashi said calmly but there was an undertone of mirth to his voice.

"You little bastard." Zabuza growled and spun Kubikiribōchō around to slice through the Water Prison and Naruto in one fluid movement. Naruto split in two and disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Just how many of these fucking clones can he make?"

"His limit hasn't been found yet, largest group he's made so far is a little over a thousand. We couldn't get an exact count because he started fighting himself." Kakashi replied. "The ploy failed Naruto, you can come out now." A rock behind Sasuke turned into Naruto but not the usual Naruto, the blonde had appeared in his Oiroke no Jutsu form complete with clouds.

"Forgive me? Za-bu-za-Sa-ma." Naruto in a girly voice, accompanying each syllable with a jiggle of his chest. The Demon of the Mist glared at Naruto and started to snarl, his grip on Kubikiribōchō tightening so much the handle's binding could be heard creaking.

"You're dead kid."

Zabuza prepared to launch himself at the group when a section of the bushes rustled, all the shinobi went on alert. A dark-skinned man with white hair and a goatee stepped out with Pakkun under his arm, he was bare-chested underneath white body armour that only covered his stomach up to his left shoulder, white fingerless glove covered his hands and forearms with three red stripes on each forearm section and a silver ring on the back of each hand, a long white scarf was wrapped around his neck and a thick red rope was tied around his waist. Black pants with a band of white cloth tied around each leg just above the knee, his lower legs were covered with shin guards with the same three red stripes as his gloves, black sandals were on his feet and seven swords were arranged on his back. A pair of oval shaped sunglasses covered his eyes, he had two tattoos one on his right shoulder and the other on his left cheek and on his forehead was a hitai-ate which consisted of a white cloth and metal plate showing the symbol of Kumogakure.

No way. Naruto thought as he watched Killer B step fully into the open.

Well, this is new. Kurama said, sensing his brethren nearby.

Seeing the distraction on Naruto's face Zabuza shunshined behind the blonde, intent on separating his head from his shoulders when twin slivers of light flickered in the corner of his eye. Spinning Kubikiribōchō around he deflected a pair of senbon that had been directed at his neck away and leapt back as Kakashi kicked him in the stomach to lessen the blow, this put him into the path of a more dangerous attack.

"Lariat!" B shouted as his arm slammed into the back of Zabuza's neck. The rogue-Nin tumbled bonelessly across the ground as a second pair of senbon darted into his neck and a Kirigakure Hunter-Nin appeared on the branch of a nearby tree.

"I thank you all for your assistance." The Hunter-Nin shunshined to Zabuza's side. "Now, if you'll excuse me." Picking up Zabuza's body and Kubikiribōchō the Hunter-Nin shunshined away.

"Who was that and why did they take his body?" Sakura asked.

"Kirigakure Hunter-Nin." Kakashi answered, shifting his gaze from where Zabuza had been to where B nod stood. "A shinobi's body can hold a lot of secrets about their home village, Hunter-Nin dispose of the bodies of their villages rogue-nin to keep those secrets safe. Though usually they dispose of the body where they find it."

"Probably took it away because of us being here." Sasuke said.

"…Maybe." Kakashi murmured, putting the issue to the back of his mind for now.

"Thanks for the help." Naruto said, taking a step towards B when Kakashi pulled him back by his collar.

"You have my thanks for protecting my student but if I may ask, what's the Raikage's brother doing so far from home?" Kakashi said, still on high alert with his Sharingan focused on B. "Our villages aren't exactly on friendly terms at the moment."

"In the middle of wanderlust, Killer B only did what was just. The main man was sick of being cooped up, took a hike and found this lost pup." B rapped.

"…I have no idea what you're saying."

"It's okay Kakashi-Sensei." Naruto said, finally getting out of the Jonin's grasp. "I speak rap, he said he was bored being stuck at home and decided to take a walk. He found Pakkun and I'm guessing wanted to reunite him with his owner. Seeing I was in trouble he helped out cause it was the right thing to do."

"Hell of a 'walk' between here and Kumogakure. Also, I don't have an owner and this idiot won't listen to anything I say." Pakkun complained struggling in B's grip.

"Truth he's speaks, kid with the blonde peaks."

"Naruto, be careful." Kakashi said, tensed for whatever might happen.

"It's alright, he'd like me." Naruto replied, looking over his shoulder at his Sensei before turning back to B. "Pup's with the grown up. We can intro, if you want to know."

"Naruto." Kakashi's tone made to point that the blonde was going too far.

"You want to know me? I'm the notorious Killer B." B released Pakkun, who ran over to stand next to Kakashi, as he moved his arms around in a rap manner. "Working with A cause no one else can, except for me the main man. Yeeeaaahhaaa!"

"My turn to educate, so yo' knowledge be sate." Naruto then pointed to each of his teammates in turn. "Kakashi reads porn in every room, Sakura's a cherry just starting to bloom, Sasuke's buried deep in gloom and I'm Naruto the next Hokage, boom!" Naruto punched the air before pointing at his teammates again and continuing ignoring the looks of disapproval and annoyance from Kakashi. "Sensei is his role, she's got lions in her heart, he's got a fire in his soul and I've got a beast in my belly that's too hard to control." While he was rapping Naruto's arms moved around in the same manner as B's did.

"Naruto!" Kakashi shouted as he watched B's eyebrows raise in surprise. B's surprise faded quickly as he took a step towards Naruto and held out his fist.

"Don't be a chump, prove it with a fist bump." Naruto put his fist to B's without hesitation and the pair stood still while their demons connected.

Gyūki, it's been a long time. Kurama said with a grin as the Bijuu looked at each other, their fists pressed together like their hosts. Gyūki was fully released while Kurama was reaching through the bars of his cage.

Kurama, you've certainly become more civil. Care to tell me why you seem to be helping your host? The 8 tails replied.

Oh, I'll tell you but you probably won't believe it. Kurama chuckled before starting his explanation. Once he finished there were a few minutes of silence as Gyūki thought about what he'd just heard.

Well, you are right, I'm having trouble believing you but there are certain things you've said that neither you nor your host could know without being in Kumogakure to see it for yourselves. I'm inclined to believe that you're telling the truth, the question now is what do we do to stop it from happening?

That is something we're still working on, for now spread the message onto Matabi and your host. Then I suggest getting as strong as possible and try to get Kumogakure prepared for a possible world war but don't let the blowhard of a Kage try invading other lands. Naruto will be doing the same in Konohagakure and if event play out the same that Naruto and I saw we'll try and get Shukaku to go along with the plan.

Good luck convincing him, last I heard he'd given himself over to bloodlust.

Leave that to Naruto and I, if all goes to plan Shukaku will help. He is a Bijuu after all, self-preservation is our highest priority. Kurama looked away from Gyūki as if he'd seen something. We're about to have some company, time for us to part. The two demons nodded to each other and separated their fists.

B and Naruto separated their fists seconds after their Bijuu did and took a step back from each other. Before any words could be exchanged a woman burst through the tree line and landed behind B. She was followed by another woman, a young girl and a young man, the first woman looked to be in her mid-twenties, she had pale skin and sandy blonde hair bound in a ponytail with bandages, her eyes were dark and she wore red lipstick. A short sleeved black and purple blouse covered her torso as matching black pants covered her legs, both her blouse and pants had a cloud-like design on them. Purple fingerless gloves were on her hands, with bandages wrapped around her forearms an additional a chain of blue beads circled her left forearm over the bandages. Her outfit was finished with standard shinobi sandals, a kunai holster on her right thigh, a red sash around her waist and a Kumogakure hitai-ate on her forehead.

The second woman had chin length blonde hair and was a similar age to the first. Her eyes were blue and she wore an aloof expression. She wore grey robes which were open enough to reveal some of her considerable bust and the mesh armour she wore beneath her robes. A pair of red armguards covered her forearms high boots protected her lower legs and a modified flak jacket was fastened around her waist like a girdle. A tanto was strapped horizontally to her lower back and one hand rested on the handle. The woman didn't seem to be wearing a hitai-ate.

The young girl was only slightly older then Naruto currently was, meaning she was in her early to mid-teens. She had the same dark skin as B, red hair and amber eyes. She wore a simple long dress with short sleeves and slightly frilled edges covered with the same type of body armour as B. She wore her hitai-ate like a bandana, black boots with white soles, a simple pair of yellow earrings hung from her ears and a long sword was strapped to her back.

The young man was similar age to the girl, he had short spiky white hair and dark eyes. His outfit consisted of an overly long shirt complete with hood, red bandages were wrapped around his forearms and lower legs. His flak jacket mirrored that of B's and the young girl's. A lollipop stick hung from his mouth and he carried a long sword on his back, his hitai-ate was firmly tied around his forehead on black fabric.

The four Kumo-nin looked at Naruto and the rest of Team 7 in surprise.

"They have Lord B!" The girl with red hair reached for her sword as she rushed forward as Sasuke did the same. The woman with chin length blonde hair stopped the red-haired girl as Naruto tackled Sasuke to the ground.

"Article 12." Kakashi said quickly, getting an understanding nod from the two blonde women.

"Article 12?" Sakura asked.

"Article 12 of the Shinobi code." The woman with a ponytail replied. "Don't they teach you anything in Konoha? It can be invoked between Shinobi of different villages to allow peaceful negotiations in unexpected circumstances." The woman noticed the spiral emblem on Naruto's sleeve as he struggled to hold Sasuke down. "Hey cute kid, what's your name?"

Sasuke stopped his struggling to glare at the woman and opened his mouth to answer but the woman interrupted before he could get any words out.

"Not you, the blonde kid."

In his surprise Naruto fell back as Sasuke pushed him off and stalked over to Kakashi. Brushing dust off himself, Naruto formed a ram seal and flared his chakra.

"Why are you trying to dispel a genjutsu?" The other blonde woman asked having let the red-haired girl go once she'd calmed down.

"He's the one who get the attention, not me." Naruto explained, jerking a thumb towards Sasuke. "Being called cute has never happened to me before." The blonde with the ponytail raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Cause the whiskers are cute and you've got beautiful eyes, not like dark and pasty there. Anyway, what's your name?"

Out of the corner of his eye Naruto saw Kakashi subtly shake his head. Chuckling lightly Naruto gave the woman the most charming smile he could muster.

"Isn't it manners to introduce yourself first?" The woman chuckled lightly, raising her hand to her mouth and resting the side of her index finger on her lips. She moved her hand away with a slight flick of her wrist, a small smirk playing across her red lips.

"That's true, my name is Yugito Nii. This is Samui, Karui and Omoi, it seems as though you've already met Lord B." Yugito took a step forward and smiled at Naruto. "Just out of curiosity, what's that symbol on you sleeve?" Looking at the spiral Naruto was about to answer that it was his clan symbol but Kurama's rumbling voice stopped him.

Remember what Kumo tried last time they found out about an Uzumaki. Naruto's mind brought up the story of how Kumo had tried to kidnap his mother when she was still a student. Thinking quickly Naruto came up with the most convincing lie he could.

"Don't you know curiosity killed the cat? But since it's a beautiful woman asking, I don't see any harm in answering. It's just something the old man gave me when I was a kid, it's kind of like a good luck charm. No idea what it means though." Naruto noted the look of surprise and suspicion on Yugito's face as he mentioned a cat while staring directly at her.

"Ah, but curiosity can bring a lot of good things." Samui said. "Have you ever been curious about life in Kumogakure?"

Everyone's eyes widened at the thinly veiled suggestion of Naruto defecting, taking a few seconds to recover Naruto gave Yugito and Samui a flirty smirk.

"I don't think this is the best place for a conversation like this, how about dinner? I know a great ramen place in Konoha, if you'd care to join me after my mission ends." The two women looked slightly shocked at the fact Naruto was flirting with them before smiling.

"You're quite forward aren't you?" Samui said.

"There's two of us and only one of you. Are you sure you're man enough to handle the pair of us?" Yugito almost purred. Naruto just grinned widely.

"Ladies, there's plenty of me to go around." Clicking his fingers Naruto's clones appeared in the trees surrounding them. At first the two women just thought they were normal Bushin but when the clones dropped to the ground, kicking up small cloud of dust and showing they had shadows the women realized that they weren't normal clones.

Yugito quickly counted the clones and came up with an estimate of around forty, she tapped the numbers and a message out in code against Samui's leg. Seeing her fellow blonde's head dip slightly Yugito knew that Samui was willing to go along with the plan.

"You really are special aren't you? I'm going to have to insist that you come to Kumogakure with us." Yugito's fingernails started to lengthen as Samui's hand rested on her tanto's handle, Karui and Omoi copied her actions reaching for their own swords.

Naruto turned slightly so his face was hidden from the rest of Team 7 and let his happy go lucky mask slip away. Now his face showed the visage of a battle-hardened veteran, his blue eyes had turned cold and the grin he wore had vanished from existence. This wasn't the same person that had been there seconds before, this was a person who'd seen the horrors of war and survived even though part of them had died on the battlefield.

"I'm not going to lie." Naruto's voice was soft, almost a whisper but carried a weight that no-one expected from someone so young. "The thought of living in a different village has crossed my mind every now and again." This got a wide-eyed stare from Sakura and Sasuke, they both knew how much Naruto loved Konohagakure but never would've suspected that he'd thought about leaving. Kakashi on the other hand knew what Naruto had to deal with as a child and sympathized, he didn't show any outward reaction though he kept his focus on the Kumo-nin in front of him. "I didn't have the best childhood, I'm an orphan, I don't know who my parents are and as far as I know no-one else does. I was always the one to be blamed for anything bad that happened in the village, okay, a lot of the time I did cause it but only because of how people treated me. I acted out like that just so people would acknowledge me, so they'd see me and not looked through me like I didn't exist. The glares, the anger, the hate, I welcomed them and everything else that was directed at me because it was the only attention I could get. Out of the entire village there were only three, maybe four people that didn't hate me but from them I got pity." Naruto paused to take a breath and let out a dry bark of laughter. "I think I would've preferred the hate. I was an outcast, no friends, no family and I was looked at like I was the worse piece of shit they'd ever scrapped off their sandals but that doesn't change the fact that Konoha is my home and I'm not going anywhere with you." The Kumo-nin all started to draw their weapons but paused when Naruto raised a hand. "You didn't allow me to introduce myself or my teammates. Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan, the Copy Ninja and son of the White Fang. He's the Jonin Sensei of Team 7 which consists of Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and myself, Naruto. We're destined to be the next generation of the Sannin, if you want to try and fight us be my guest." Naruto paused for a second as he closed his eyes before opening them again, showing his blue eyes were now red and his pupils were slits, his whisker marks were darker and a thin haze of red charka coated his body. "But you won't be leaving this clearing in one piece, I can promise you that." A feral grin showed off his sharpened canines. "Believe it."

"You're…, Lord B?" Yugito started before B went and stood next to Naruto, putting his hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"Play it cool, fool ya fool. Ain't no need to fight, declining it your right." B looked at his fellow Kumo-nin. "This ends now, we're going to exit with a bow." B patted Naruto's shoulder once and walked over to Yugito and Samui. "This stays between us, no complaints or fuss. And don't tell my bro, he doesn't need to know." Yugito opened her mouth to protest but B just stared at her. "That's an order from your Lord, disobey and you'll pay a price you can't afford." Closing her mouth Yugito simply nodded and retracted her claws. "Time to go, see you round Naruto. Yeeeaaahhaaa!" B held his fist out again and waited for Naruto to bump it. Keeping his eyes focused on Yugito and Samui Naruto slowly raised his arm bumped his fist against B's. With that done four tentacles sprouted from B's back and wrapped around Yugito, Samui, Karui and Omoi before B leapt into the trees with Yugito complaining about how slimy it felt and scolding him for wandering off again.

Naruto let Kurama's chakra recede as B carried the other Kumo-nin away, his clones started to dispel as the last group of them came into the clearing with Tazuna.

"Naruto, where did you learn to do that?" Sakura asked, causing Naruto to turn and face her.

"Learn what?"

"To talk like that, you were flirting with them."

"So what, they were pretty."

"How did you even know how to do that?"

"I didn't sleep through all our classes, I remember some stuff."

"Which class was that from?"

"Infiltration and seduction techniques. Never thought I'd have to use them though." Naruto shrugged, there wasn't much to it beyond that. "Didn't the girls have a class like that? I know we got separated into groups for it. We had to try and get a secret out of a girl without using force, Sasuke nearly failed the class cause he just kept saying 'Tell me what I want to know.'" Kakashi's mouth twitched as he hid a smile at the rather accurate impersonation of Sasuke's monotone.

"Well, we did but I er…" Sakura trailed off and blushed as she made a point of not looking towards Sasuke. "You were always asking me on a date, why didn't you try talking like that?"

"Everything we learnt at the academy is meant to be used against enemies, you're not an enemy." Naruto's reply was met with silence as Sakura didn't know what to say next.

"Why you?" The sound of Sasuke's voice caught everyone's attention.

"Huh?" Was Naruto's articulate response as he turned to face the Uchiha.

"Why did they want you?" There was the 1000ryo question, it had been hovering around in Sakura's mind too. If they'd wanted Sasuke she'd understand, but Naruto? What would they want with him.

"Yeah, they were asking about your name. Why would they do that?" Sakura asked.

"Hell if I know."

"It's because he's an Uzumaki." Kakashi said, moving his hitai-ate back down to cover his Sharingan. "The Uzumaki were a powerful clan when Konoha was founded but they died out."

"How powerful could they be if they died out?" Sasuke questioned as Kakashi got them all moving again towards Nami no Kuni.

"Konohagakure was the only village that didn't fear them, the reason the Uzumaki died out was because Kumogakure and Kirigakure allied with some of the smaller nations and attacked. By the time Konoha found out and managed to muster a force strong enough to help it was too late, there are some Uzumaki that managed to escape but it's not know how many or where they are now. Not being there for our closest ally is one of the darkest stains on Konoha's history." A dark chuckle came from Kakashi. "They took the majority of the attacking force down though, a well-trained Uzumaki in their home territory is someone you never want to face."

"Naruto's an orphan, how do you know he's actually an Uzumaki?" Sakura asked.

"By his chakra, the Uzumaki were known for having enormous chakra reserves and exceptional longevity. As a new born Naruto had more chakra than your average Chunin, now his reserves are larger than mine and they'll only get bigger."

"That still doesn't explain why they were after him." Sasuke grunted.

"Kumogakure would've had Naruto impregnate their strongest kunoichi. Imagine a group of shinobi with chakra reserves like Naruto's, now imagine that they had an army like that. Kumogakure's main focus is on military power, having Naruto they would've been more powerful than ever before."

"Wait a minute!" Naruto shouted. "I would've had sexy times with those blondes? Can I change my mind and go find them?" Naruto's answer was an unimpressed expression from Kakashi and a punch to the head from Sakura. "Okay I get it, not the time for jokes."

"We need to get to Nami no Kuni as soon as possible." Kakashi said. "Pakkun, give me those scrolls back. There's something I need to add to them."

"Sure thing Kakashi." Pakkun dropped the scrolls on the ground, Kakashi knelt down and opening the one for the Hokage adding a few more lines to it before closing it and handing the two scrolls back to Pakkun.

"Now I need you to get to Konoha as quickly as you can…and try not to get stopped again."

"If that weirdo tries to grab me again, I'll chew his beard off." Pakkun picked up the scrolls and dashed into the trees, leaving a dust trail behind him.

"Now that's done, we're heading out again." Kakashi stood up and staggered to one side. "Damn, used too much chakra. I'm out of shape." Naruto quickly got hold of Kakashi and helped the Jonin steady himself. "We're going to have a talk about what just happened later Naruto."

"Yes Sensei." Naruto sighed, knowing he probably had some explaining to do. With that said, Team 7 and Tazuna continued on their way and apart from an incident with some bandits they made it to Nami no Kuni safely, reaching Tazuna's house and letting Kakashi rest so he could recover his chakra.

That's it for now, let me know what you think.

Until Next Time

Basic Trainer