A/N: Update date - 6/29/10. This chapter comes in at about 3950 words, so it's not really short, but not very long. I decided that it was simply a great place to leave off.

Thank you for the reviews! Here are last chapter's reviewers:

wind dancer1981, luckycomet09, imouto12345, empire14, Kiiroi Senko, The-Real-James-Potter, W0nd3rM1k3, Hakumei-chan, BKwriter, .Alpha, shushinking, HolyKnight5, HatchetChu, TsubasaWitch. Thank you!

As for the reviews I can answer personally:

Holyknight: Without giving to much away, that was intended from the beginning :) As for the other stuff, well, you'll see. I've got rather unique plans for this one.

Luckycomet09: This story is in the genres of Family and Hurt/Comfort (and I suppose friendship). This is not meant to be an action story, and thus you won't find a progression of villains or huge threats looming over the horizon (at least not constantly). That said, expect something big in the future... As for Tsunade, I haven't forgotten about her. It will have to wait, though.

Please review, it is my motivation and I love hearing from my readers.


Chapter 8: The Path Less Traveled

Once the peace treaty was signed by the Kazekage, Naruto asked him for a word in private. They walked into his office, and the Kazekage began with standard pleasantries.

"Well, what is it you'd like to talk to me about?"

Naruto sighed; this wasn't going to be easy. "I know you probably didn't believe me earlier when I said I could level this village in a day. I don't mean to be threatening or anything like that, but I want to be clear. What I'm about to tell you is considered an S-rank secret in my village, but I don't see the harm in telling you. My name is Namikaze Naruto. You obviously know the surname, but what you don't know is that I'm not the Yellow Flash's brother or relative. I'm his son."

The older man was baffled by this. He'd read in his reports that the famed Yellow Flash was quite young, likely in his early 20's. How could he possibly have a teenage son?

"I know that's confusing, and you're right, it doesn't make sense. He's too young to have a teenage son. Well, as crazy as it sounds, the reason it's possible is because I'm not from this time; I'm from the future."

Huh? "You expect me to believe that?"

"Not right away, no. But like everyone else, you'll quickly come to believe it. It sounds crazy, but it's completely true. Several of my friends and I accidentally traveled to the past after a combination of two unique jutsu. You can choose not to believe me, but I think it is your best interests to think about it."

The Kazekage scratched his chin. On one hand, time travel sounded like something out of a legend. But on the other, this teen's appearance was uncannily similar to the Yellow Flash, and perhaps in the future, time travel was not so novel of an idea. "I'm listening."

"You don't know what happened to your Sandaime Kazekage, right? Well, turns out he was killed by Sasori, and turned into a human puppet. If you ever see Sasori, keep in mind that all of his weapons are poisoned and the guy can use one hundred puppets at once." Naruto paused, letting the information sink in. "Regardless of whether or not you believe me, there is something you should believe. I believe that at this time, you have two children, Temari and Kankuro?"

The only response was a pair of wide eyes and an open mouth. How could he possibly have such information?

"I know about them because I've met them, in the future. Kankuro becomes a skilled puppeteer while Temari uses wind based jutsu from an iron fan. But what I really need to talk to you about, and the whole point of me telling you all of this, is that in my time, you had a third child. A boy named Gaara. What's special about him is that you decided to implant the Ichibi into him as a baby, killing his mother—your wife—in the process. I know enough about seals to know that his seal was terrible, and as a result he had to deal with the Shukaku's personality every minute of his life. He suffered from constant insomnia. And while I mean no offense to you, you began to fear him and sent assassins after him, whom all failed. Because this village shunned him and you constantly tried to kill him, he became insane. I was able to help him, eventually, but his life was never the same. Through hard work, he became Godaime Kazekage at age 16. What I'm asking you to do is simply to accept help in the sealing process and to treat him well. There are a few sealing masters in my village who would be glad to help, myself included."

These constant revelations began to take their toll on the Kazekage, yet he was paying attention to every word. "How do I know I can trust you?"

Naruto lifted up his shirt, and a glowing, intricate seal appeared. "Because I'm a jinchuuriki too, and I care about my kind." He put his shirt back down. "In my time, Gaara was one of my closest friends. We had a bond that was as unique as it was strong. I want to help him however I can."

A few moments later, the Kazekage was finished considering the offer. "Well, at the very least, you can trust me to call for help in the sealing process when the time comes. I am not quite certain about your 'future' status, but I am certainly considering the possibility."

They turned to leave the office, but Naruto stopped. "Oh, I almost forgot." The Kazekage looked back at the blond. "In my time, Suna and Konoha were very close allies. I hope we can achieve the same this time, Kazekage-sama." Naruto offered his hand, and after a brief moment, the Kazekage shook it.

"To a better future."

00.000.00

This is just…unbelievable, thought Sasuke. Walking throughout the Uchiha District, he was warmly greeted by faces he last remembered lying in pools of blood. The true irony, he supposed, was that he was carrying the boy who would have grown to kill them all on his shoulders. Just as his brother used to carry him around, he was now caring for his 'little' brother. Is he really my LITTLE brother now?

His musings were interrupted by a playful voice in his ear. "Funny hair guy, can we go to the top of the mountain?" asked Itachi.

He speaks pretty well for a four year old. Then again, this is ITACHI we're talking about. "Sure. Do you want to walk, or be there before you can say 'flicker'?"

"Flic—" Itachi was cut off by the sudden acceleration of a body flicker, leaving Itachi gaping at both the feat and the view of the entire village.

Sasuke let a wide grin show. "How was that?"

"Cool! Do it again!" The teen chuckled.

"When we go back. Why don't you enjoy the view for now?" They savored several minutes of companionable silence before the boy decided to humor a sudden whim of his.

"Funny hair?"

"Hm?"

"Why is your hair so weird?"

Sasuke ground his teeth. If this is your way of getting back at me, Nii-san, mission freaking accomplished. "It is not weird!" But as he was about to discover, arguing with a four year old was like trying to get Naruto to eat something other than ramen. It just didn't occur to them to change their minds.

00.000.00

"Obito, watch my back!" yelled Kakashi-kun. With Minato on his honeymoon, Kakashi-jisan volunteered to lead Team Minato as their jounin-sensei, completing the four-man unit. They were on the frontlines between Iwa and Konoha, spearheading an attack one of the remaining vital Iwa supply lines. Kakashi-jisan had taken Naruto's sentiment to heart and ordered his team to avoid killing their enemies whenever possible. If there was to be peace, it would be far easier to attain with less blood on the scales.

Kakashi-kun charged into the Iwa formation, Chidori roaring to life. Kakashi-kun's older self had taught him how to use the Chidori as a nonlethal jutsu by delivering a huge electrical shock instead of an elemental stab. His Sharingan allowed him to prevent running headlong into death, but he would be quickly overwhelmed if he wasn't covered by his team. Obito weaved seals for a non-lethal fire jutsu that would hopefully take his targets out of the fight. Kakashi-jisan charged straight in, Sharingan spinning wildly, as he overwhelmed two Iwa chuunin with pure taijutsu. The three of them made quick work of the Iwa team, and they bound those defeated while Rin treated the shinobi who had serious wounds. Satisfied that they wouldn't be hampered by the enemy team for the duration of the mission, Kakashi-jisan signaled for the team to head on towards their objective: a supplies stockpile in the middle of an Iwa staging area.

Reaching the perimeter of the staging area had been difficult, but many years of ANBU experience allowed Kakashi-jisan to make quick work of the sentries. Spotting the target, Kakashi-jisan whispered to his team. "Listen up. I'm going to take out the target from here, but it's going to cost me a lot of chakra, so you'll need to watch my back as we retreat. Rin, I'm going to need you to prepare a soldier pill."

She complied, and Kakashi-jisan pulled down his mask, much to the interest and shock of his team. He uncovered his Sharingan eye, which then morphed into a completely new design—a three pronged, twisting shuriken. All three of his younger teammates gasped at that, and Obito was in total disbelief. Before they could continue their trains of thought, black flames erupted near Kakashi-jisan's eye, hurtling towards the large stockpile. The Iwa camp quickly fell into chaos as the black flame enveloped the entirety of the supplies with bystanders looking on helplessly. Kakashi quickly covered his eye with a hand, and grunted in pain. All three of them noticed him crying blood, adding to their confusion.

After a few moments, the older Kakashi placed his hitai-ate back over his Sharingan and wiped the blood away. "The pill, Rin…"

She quickly handed it to him, and he promptly swallowed. "Alright," he croaked, his voice weak. "We need to move. I won't be very alert, so you three will need to watch each other's backs."

00.000.00

Daisuke had been enjoying a nice day. Well, nice by the loosest of definitions. He hadn't died, so he could count that as "above average." He had just eaten a terrible meal, walked outside the mess tent, and stretched when black flames erupted throughout each of the supply piles and tents. He was so mystified by this strange phenomenon that he didn't even order his subordinates to try and put the flames out; something told him that it would be futile anyway. Within minutes, nearly all of their supplies had been burnt to ashes, including the terrible food he had been looking forward to eating tomorrow. He looked at the damage, almost in a daze. This is ridiculous, he thought. First the entire advance force gets taken prisoner, and now THIS?

"Commander!" shouted one of his men. Daisuke turned to face him with a defeated expression.

"What is it?"

"Sir, we've just received reports that Suna has signed a peace agreement with Konoha. And…well, there are rumors going around that say…well…"

"Out with it, chuunin." He didn't have time for games.

"Well, sir, they're saying that when the advance force was taken prisoner, there were TWO Yellow Flashes of Konoha. And…that the second one summoned this giant toad and used some huge jutsu made of pure chakra."

Daisuke sighed. "Thank you for the report. Dismissed." This was indeed getting ridiculous. If Konoha was mounting up major victories when they were fighting a war on two fronts, Iwa was screwed now if Konoha could direct all of its attention on them. These newest developments only served to confirm his fears. He entered his command tent and began writing a letter to the Tsuchikage. He'd be damned if he was going to let his force be captured or killed when Konoha's Yellow Flash came on the attack. With their stockpiles gone, their staging ground would have to go onto emergency rations, and any offensive maneuvers would have to be cancelled entirely. Perhaps most importantly, morale was in the ditch.

And Daisuke didn't think a victory was coming any time soon.

00.000.00

"Buy me some time, Gamabunta-san!" yelled Jiraiya. His fight was not going well. Hanzo had many years of experience and inherent skill over the Toad Sannin, and it showed. While the summons were relatively equally matched, Jiraiya could never gain the upper hand, and when it came to fighting Hanzo personally, he knew that his chances were not very good. His only hope would be to enter Sage Mode, but preparing the required summons would take quite some time.

He still had some time to go when Hanzo launched a massive water dragon at him. Gamabunta was busy blocking an attack from Hanzo's famed salamander, and Jiraiya was out of ideas. The water dragon hurtled towards him fast…too fast…

"Shinra Tensei!" The water dragon exploded around him, its form blown away as if someone had struck it with a giant sledge hammer. Jiraiya turned to see Nagato with his hand outstretched, panting. "Sorry, sensei…pant, but I've always wanted to fight beside you."

They both smiled, and Jiraiya cherished the moment. "Likewise, Nagato! I'm just about ready. Let's show this Salamander the true meaning of power! Summoning Jutsu!"

Through the smoke, two small toads appeared to be standing on Jiraiya's shoulders. "What? Jiraiya-chan, did you HAVE to summon us into pouring rain!"

"Sorry, Shima-sama, but I'm in a bit of a tight situation here…"

"Leave the boy alone, Ma-chan. Are you ready to fight, Jiraiya-chan?"

"Of course. Let's start with Goemon! On my mark!"

Nagato stared at his sensei, mouth agape and yet smiling at the same time. He'd dreamed of such a moment, but living it was even sweater. The Toad Sage lept into the air above the salamander and dropped a wave of flaming hot oil, engulfing the summon. Hanzo lept for safety, but Gamabunta quickly cut off his escape and swung his giant sword down. He managed to dodge, but Nagato immediately intercepted him. He cast his most powerful wind jutsu at the man, who managed to counter with a wall of water. Gamabunta swung his sword again, forcing the Ame leader to dodge yet again. Hanzo weaved a series of seals and unleashed another water dragon, which the toad jumped away to evade. With the man distracted, Nagato body flickered close to his flank, but he noticed the maneuver. Hanzo attempted to swing his head around to fire the jutsu at Nagato, but he thrust his hands forward, unleashing a Shinra Tensei at point blank range. The force the attack sent the older man flying into the earth, but he managed to recover before Nagato could make an incapacitating blow.

As Hanzo weaved another series of seals, he was peppered from behind with dozens of white needles, and the Salamander fell over, a now dead legend. Nagato looked behind the corpse to see his sensei standing on all fours. "Sensei?"

"You were amazing, Nagato." The sage placed hand on his shoulder with a smile. "I think it's time we fixed the situation in the Land of Rain, don't you think?"

00.000.00

"What was that, Jisan?" asked Obito. They had just crossed the frontlines and were heading back to base camp. Rin and Kakashi-kun were just as curious; they had never heard of anything like that before.

"What you saw were the Mangekyo Sharingan and Amataersu, respectively."

"Mangekyo Sharingan? I'm an Uchiha, and I've never been told such a thing."

"Because it's a dark and well kept secret of the Uchiha clan. There is an advanced form of the Sharingan, called the Mangekyo Sharingan. It carries great powers, but at a heavy cost. The reason you have never been told about it is because to activate it, you must feel the pain of losing the person you are closest to."

They mulled over his words for a moment before asking the obvious question. "And who did you lose, Jisan?" asked Rin.

Kakashi-jisan looked back at his team. "You, Obito, Sensei, and Kushina-nee-san, among others."

They all stopped in their tracks. "What?" asked Obito. "You mean Sensei died? And Rin…and…Kushina…" his voice trailed off, emotional pain evident.

"Now's not the time for the story. But like I told Rin, you don't need to worry. We're not going to let any of that happen this time. But back to the original question, the true reason why it's such a dark secret is because it was originally believed that one could only awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan by killing one's closest friend or loved one."

Kakashi-jisan took note of more shocked expressions. "As you can imagine, if such a secret were to become public knowledge, the Uchiha clan would become covered in blood. If that wasn't bad enough, the act of killing one's closest friend gives the person a different kind of pain. They awaken their Mangekyo Sharingan, but because they feel guilt and pain associated with directly killing their friend, their Mangekyo has a serious drawback." He waited, giving a dramatic pause. "By using that type of Mangekyo Sharingan, they grow more and more blind each time they use one of its techniques."

Obito knew that to an Uchiha, who valued their eyes so much, going blind was a punishment worse than death. "But you don't have that problem, right, Jisan?"

"Right. Trust me, this kind of power is not worth the cost. Would you want to lose Rin in order to gain this eye?"

Knowing full well of Obito's feelings for Rin, Kakashi-jisan got the exact reaction he was looking for: an exasperated denial.

00.000.00

"Would you like a massage, Namikaze-san?"

"Why of course, Mina-kun," answered an equally playful Kushina. The couple had been ecstatic when they heard that their honeymoon had been extended by the Hokage. Although Kushina didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, he was naturally curious. He asked Hiruzen why when the older man stopped by to deliver the good news and got a very intriguing reply.

"You haven't heard?" asked Hiruzen. "It seems your s—cousin is quite the peace maker. He personally convinced the Kazekage to sign a peace agreement, and practically every citizen in Konoha is in high spirits. I thought it only fair to allow you an extension on your honeymoon now that half of our forces are no longer tied up on the southeastern front."

Kushina was very much enjoying herself when she remembered something. "Remind me to generously thank Naruto when he gets back, 'kay?"

Oh yes, thought Minato, I'll be sure to let him know just how much I owe him.

00.000.00

From Suna, Naruto and his diplomats headed north for Iwagakure. This time, he employed the use of Gamahiro for travel, making it to the border of the Land of Earth in a day in a half. They headed towards Iwa, eventually coming across a patrol of genin. They were obviously flabbergasted at seeing what they believed to be the Yellow Flash of Konoha, but Naruto quickly alleviated their worry and asked for an audience with the Tsuchikage. Two days later, their request was granted.

00.000.00

Onoki, the Sandaime Tsuchikage, was ready to rip his hair out. He had bet a lot on that overwhelming advance force, hoping they would penetrate deep into the Land of Fire and allowing Iwa to set up forward bases near Konoha, but it had been embarrassingly foiled by the Yellow Flash of Konoha and some other blond enigma. Then he received news of a peace agreement between Suna and Konoha, and Onoki knew that victory was now in jeopardy.

Of course, he wasn't truly worried until he had received a letter from one of his own commanders, 'suggesting' an 'immediate attempt at peace negotiations.' The reports of so called 'black flames' engulfing the entirety of one of the major base camps' supplies put true doubt into the Tsuchikage's mind. What else were they capable of?

00.000.00

Naruto was very surprised when negotiating a peace treaty with Iwa turned out to be even easier than it had with Suna. The Tsuchikage readily agreed to a peace agreement, and the terms were not at all unfavorable to either side. As Naruto turned to leave, he smiled at the whispers of "Yellow Flash" coming from every Iwa citizen he came by.

00.000.00

Hiruzen's pipe literally fell out of his mouth when news of another peace agreement, this time with Iwa, reached his ears. He ordered his ANBU guards to spread the news while he sent out stand-down orders to Konoha forces. After a few moments of pondering, he decided to go inform his unknowing successor of this newest development. He approached the door to their suite and was about to knock when he heard certain sounds that gave him pause. Embarrassed, Hiruzen pulled out a blank scroll, ripped a piece out, wrote down the message, and slid the paper beneath the door. Well Naruto, you certainly know how to do your parents a favor.

00.000.00

Wrapped in a towel, Kushina walked out of the shower and noticed a slip of paper by the door. Minato peered over at her curiously as he watched her read the note with a dropped jaw.

"What is it, Kushina-koi?"

"You're not going to believe this…" she said as she sat down on the bed and handed him the piece of paper.

He read the note and had the same reaction. "What? He managed to get a peace agreement with Suna and Iwa in less than two weeks?"

"We'll have to throw him a celebration when he gets back."

"Speaking of celebrations…"

00.000.00

Hinata had never enjoyed sparring with her father in her life. He was always stern, with impossibly high expectations and wrought with disappointment when she constantly failed to live up to them. But now, he was a much kinder man. He held no expectations for her whatsoever, and was quite impressed with her skills. Hiashi had already already ordered the elders to find a way of safely removing the caged bird seals, and the edlers' protests fell on deaf ears as news of peace settlements with Suna arrived. Ironically, Hiashi ended up making the same arguments that Hinata had formulated in her head years ago. Her fondest experiences, however, were with her mother.

It was no secret to her friends that Hinata loved to cook. Naruto made it a point to brag about her cooking "prowess" at every opportunity, but she always remained modest about it. She was surprised to learn, though, that her mother was even more skilled than she was.

And so they found themselves cooking nearly every meal together, sharing laughs and commenting on gossip. She was thankful to Naruto for convincing her to interact with her family instead of avoiding them altogether, but always thought of her younger sister with a heavy heart.

"I think maybe it's time to let the past go."

I know, she thought, but I'll never forget.

00.000.00

"So, did you find any boys in your time?" Sakura walked alongside her unknowing mother in the shopping district of Konoha.

Sakura laughed and gave a slight blush. "Well, for a while I had a huge crush on this one guy. Turned out to be a big mistake, but now I'm not so sure."

"Did you hear about the peace treaty with Iwa? Does this mean that we're no longer at war?" she asked.

"Yes, and yes. Respectively." Sakura beamed at her mother. "Turns out the cousin of the Yellow Flash is quite the negotiator."

"The Namikaze family, eh? I guess we can expect great things from them in the future, then."

Yes, Mom. You have no idea.


A/N: Yes, I gave Kakashi Amaterasu. Why? Because it makes sense that he would have it. And I want him to have it. Plus, this is over a year after canon events; he's had plenty of time to train. Still, it takes a lot out of him.

I also took a little creative freedom with the MS blindness; since Kakashi knew about a lot of MS technique and quality stuff, it would make sense that he would know about it's drawback. However, despite using his MS quite a bit (and that's just on panel, not including the times he's used it to develop the jutsu itself) and has never indicated any loss in vision. I like it better this way, to be honest.

PLEASE REVIEW! I would really appreciate it :)

Naruto works his magic yet again, but this time he has actual events on his side; Iwa's prospects are not good, and Onoki knows that, so he's going to settle for peace.

Next chapter will likely be titled "Revelations". Take from that what you will.

Until next time!