I know, I know, I'm a piece of shit. I gave myself an Ultimate Jerkface Wedgie that sent me into the stratosphere, and now that I'm back I bring with me a small update.

Gotta say I love you all for continuing to support this story, and I apologize for keeping you waiting.

I don't own Naruto.

Somewhere Within a Forest

A cloaked figure calmly made their way through the trees, battered and splattered in the life's fluid of another.

This blood that bathed them belonged to Hanzo the Salamander. Beyond the forest that the figure moved through was a rainy, dreary village, and before its grand entrance was a spear. Atop the spear, was the head of Hanzo himself, removed by the hand of the cloaked one that silently fled.

No one knew just yet of the defeat of Ame's leader, but it was only a matter of time.

The cloaked figure, weary from a battle that lasted days with the warmonger released a faint sigh and paused. Mournful eyes fled skyward, remembering a pair of eyes just like the color that was spread out overhead. The figure lifted their hand, slipping it beneath their cloak to tenderly brush a thumb across the battered hitai-ate that was sewn over the heart of their tunic.

Naruto's hitai-ate.

The figure's eyes swept low again, thoughts wandering back to the death of Hanzo, and how the world would be altered because of their interference.

'It's for the best.' The figure thought. 'I'm paving a path for a better world.'

A world Naruto would have wanted to see. A peaceful one.

With those thoughts driving their emotions and actions, the figure began to tread anew, setting out on a new hunt. And until all those who were responsible for the nearly bleak future the figure hailed from were slain, the cloaked figure's work would remain undone. The loneliness though near unbearable, it would be worth it in the end, they knew. Because...

"Someday we'll meet again, Naruto."

Konohagakure no Sato

'This kid… is a genius.'

It'd been two weeks since Naruto's declaration to the Gama Sennin to take training seriously and show him what she was truly capable of. He'd started her on calligraphy, the basic skill needed to form well crafted seals. Surprisingly Naruto had an expert elegant hand when required, while her kanji tended to resemble drunken chicken scratch.

But that wasn't what had Jiraiya in a quiet stupor.

It wasn't the fact that she'd finished the basics of sealing in two weeks.

Two. weeks.

It'd taken Jiraiya a month, and Minato two days less.

Naruto was currently ready for phase two of the sealing arts.

Testing already made seals to see if she could replicate them accurately.

Of course she'd already done a little of that, (when he had her try and recreate a simple barrier seal he'd scrawled out and blew him to kingdom come). It was just a simple test. If you couldn't replicate seals that you looked at, then you couldn't branch off from them and create your own.

Jiraiya was still puzzling over how the hell the brat had blown up the training grounds but that was a matter for another time.

"I'm not a genius Ero Sennin."

Oh, had he said that out loud? Oops.

"If not genius, then what the hell are you? A wizard?" The man huffed, throwing his hands up.

"First, again, not a genius. That's what. And second, I'd be a witch. Third, stop looking at me like that."

The flat expression on the man's face did not lighten. "Naruto, I know genius when I see it. What is your issue with me calling you on it?"

"Apparently you don't, because you're not seeing it." She deadpanned.

"You're really working my nerves kid." Jiraiya said. "You're too good to be an amateur shinobi, too young to have worked for all your skill, which makes it in fact, not skill and raw talent, and I'm also sure this is stuff you've never seen, so you've got to be a genius to do it so well. You catch on way too fast to be average Naruto."

'I'm not average though. I'm below average. At least... I was. I worked hard for the strength I gained to fight in the 4th war, and even then, my comrades lended me so much strength I couldn't have done anything without them. And the old sage gave me part of his power, so then there's that…'

"Just don't call me that okay?" Naruto muttered. "Can you just… not? I'd really appreciate it."

Jiraiya eyed her keenly, but he didn't say anything for a long moment.

"Alright kid." He conceded, placing his hands on his hips. "That's fine I guess. Now? What do you say we get you some more practice before calling it a day?"

"I'm down." She agreed.

And so it went.

When all was said and done and the Toad Sannin shooed the little blonde away after their training session, Naruto wasted no time booking it out of the training grounds. Miraculously Jiraiya had done as she's asked and stopped commenting on her "genius", but Naruto had sensed his looks. She's caught the suddying glances, the musing set of his brows when he assumed she was completely immersed in her task. And yes, like Jiraiya said she'd taken very well to fūinjutsu, but that was only because Naruto had attained the ability to "understand all universal things" from her gift given by the Sage of Six Paths.

The little blonde wanted to hold back, because she was not comfortable with the shrewd looks Jiraiya was beginning to shoot her, but Kurama had already made it abundantly clear why dumbing herself down and short stopping her own progression was stupid.

Naruto knew she was on something of a time crunch, after all, the world wasn't going to become a better place on its own but… she just wished there was a way to do her self appointed mission without painting a target on her back.

Naruto shook her head, knowing that she was once again thinking in circles and silently cursing Kurama out because he was pretending not to hear her loud thoughts and give her some much wanted advice.

'Not my problem.'The beast grumbled, settling down in her consciousness to laze about.

Naurto rolled her eyes.

'You're the absolute worst.'

'I know, it's arguably my best quality.' The fox sniffed haughtily.

'You're a turd.' She deadpanned.

Kurama scoffed, sounding the height of nobility.

'You've been spending too much time with those snot nosed brats.'

Naruto decided not to dignify that with a response. For once she was going to be the mature one and not feed into the argument. This only made Kurama snort at her condescendingly.

The little masked blonde proceeded to ignore the almighty bijuu as she made her way through the afternoon streets of Konoha, having started training at dawn, she was not against just enjoying the scenery. A few vendors recognized her and waved, calling cheerful greetings that she kindly returned.

It was still surreal to have people treat her so cordially, even though the scorn she had endured lightened up monumentally after Pein's assault in her original time. Still, it was nice to just simply be sometimes. Though Naruto knew it wouldn't last long because she had many things to do if she wanted to alter the course of history.

'Which is why I need to soak up as much as a can in training.' She reminded herself. 'So why the heck do I still feel so conflicted about going all out?'

It was so annoying to have an understanding of why she needed to do something but still feel like she wanted to do something else. It made Naruto feel selfish and childish, two things she never enjoyed being likened to.

"Hey!"

Naruto was startled out of her thoughts by the delighted call, soon after feeling herself hug-tackled from behind, though she managed to stay standing after stumbling about for a few seconds. This only prompted the person to wrap themselves around her back like a koala, their cheek snuggling her right masked one affectionately from behind.

"Wassup Naruto?" Obito greeted again, cheerful voice right next to her ear.

The little blonde shifted her head, cheek still pressed against her friend's as he clung to her back. Fondness warmed her chest as she giggled a little.

"Get off of me you weirdo." Naruto said. "What the heck are you doing?"

Obito dislogded himself from the slightly smaller child and offered her a grin, rubbing the back of his head as his eyes squinted shut. Sometimes Naruto was truly astounded by how similar they could be.

"I was looking for you, so I got excited when I spotted you." The young Uchiha explained sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that."

"S'fine." Naruto assured him, waving it off, blue eyes sparkling as she looked at him. "What were you lookin' for me for?"

"Ah!" Obito lit up as he pointed at her. "Right! Well, some of my clansmen are being huge butts again so can I spend the night at your house? I would ask Anko but she's a huge butt-nugget too and also lives at the orphanage and… who the heck would sleep in the same house as Guy and his dad? They'd probably have me doing burpees in my sleep."

A violent snort of laughter tore out of Naruto's throat at the word vomit her friend just spewed. Obito's dark eyes twinkled, always enjoying spreading smiles to others.

And just like that, Naruto's somewhat dark and dreary mood was lifted. She was reminded of why she did what she did. To protect this, to be apart of this. To know that others could have it too.

'I'll stop worrying for now.' The little blonde thought resolutely.

Naruto slung her arm around Obito's shoulder, pulling him in close.

"I'm sorry some of your clansmen are butts." She said, shaking her head a little. "But yeah, I'd be happy if you came over. And I don't think Saki-chan would mind at all. Kashi might be a little salty, but we both know—"

"That he's an even bigger butt than Anko?" Obito finished seriously.

"Now I wouldn't go that far." Naruto answered wryly.

Obito laughed outright.

"She would be so mad if she heard you say that." His tone was quite telling of how awesome he thought that was.

"Eh, she knows we love her." Naruto waved away, beginning to walk again and steering her friend towards the Hatake compound.

"Speak for yourself, yuck." Obito gagged, his face contorting in exaggerated disgust.

Naruto rolled her eyes fondly. Honestly, Obito and Anko were always at each other's throats but they were just as close as the rest of their little gang was to each other. Their dynamic was just a little different.

Honestly, it kind of reminded Naruto of Sakura-chan and Ino. Friends that played up the bitter rival role for the sake of doing it, even if they knew they wouldn't give the other up for the world.

Naruto's blue eyes took on a nostalgic, wistful gleam.

She missed them.

"Naruto?"

"Hm?" The blonde hummed, pulled from her thoughts.

"You okay?" Obito asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm okay buddy." She said, smiling softly at him with her eyes.

The little boy shrugged from under her arm much to her surprise, but her blue eyes widened clearly when he took her hand in his instead, his own little hand warm and comforting in her own. Naruto's confusion must have been nearly palpable, because he just shrugged, his ears a little red.

"D-don't you go calling me a princess too Naruto!" Obito huffed. "You just looked like you needed it."

'A helping hand, huh?' Naruto thought, a grin stretching across her masked face.

Yeah, she guessed she kinda did.

An hour later, Naruto sat near the Hatake koi pond, resting upon her favorite rock, Obito sitting at her side. He was going to spend the night, as Sakumo had given him permission to do so after sending a summon over to the Uchihas to ask for permission.

Naruto didn't know what Sakumo did to have the Uchihas just do as he asked, but she appreciated it. Sometimes her little bud needed to get away from the compound's suffocating atmosphere. Though she had yet to enter it, from the way Obito described his clansmen, most of them didn't care that much for the "black sheep".

If she could give him the escape she'd never had at Obito's age in her old life, then of course she would.

More presently, for a while Naruto had helped her friend with his taijutsu katas, and evening was slowly rolling in. Pink, orange, and sleepy blue bled across the horizon, gentle zephyrs whispering through Konoha and its surrounding leaves as it settled down. The two friends shared a rare moment of serene silence between them as they watched the koi fish below drift about lazily in the crystalline waters.

Though somewhat predictably Obito broke the silence.

"Hey Naruto?" He called.

"Hm?" She hummed, turning her head to catch his gaze. He looked back at her with wide, curious midnight eyes.

"You know how you do really good in school and stuff, and now you have another sensei even though we're still in the academy? And how you can help me understand taijutsu katas when Akira-sensei has a hard time?"

"Yeah?" Naruto answered, blonde brows furrowing ever so slightly because she hadn't been expecting that. "What about it?"

"Well, me, Guy, and Anko thought you would graduate early, but how come you're still in the academy?" He asked.

Wow, could there possibly have been a worse time for Obito to insinuate that she was above average in skill? Naruto was still chewing on the thoughts of how she would handle Ero Sennin and his need to label her a genius, and here Obito was, doing the same thing.

Logically Naruto knew he hadn't done it on purpose, but it did dampen her mood because she'd been slowly able to shove her melancholy to the back of her mind while spending time with her friend.

"I'm still there 'cause I'm not ready to be a ninja yet." Naruto said, not even hinting at her inner thoughts. Obito narrowed his eyes at her questiongly.

"Nu uh, you keep up with Bakashi, how are you not ready to be a ninja?" He asked.

'It's not that simple.' She wanted to say.

"Trying to give me the boot?" Naruto baited, wanting to just end the conversation. "I'm hurt."

"Yeah right." Obito scoffed. "You're so phony Naruto. I just wanna know, you're super cool. How come Bakashi gets to be a ninja and you're just… not?"

Naruto sighed, realizing she wasn't getting out of the subject without coming off as an ass.

"I just wanna be normal for as long as I can Obi." The blonde admitted, looking away from him, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them so she could hide most of her face behind them. "I'm not a genius like Kashi. I'm just… me, and I'm not ready to be a ninja yet."

'I'm not strong enough to be sent out there, and do what I've set out to do yet.' Naruto thought. 'And not just that, and even if I know it's selfish... I want to be a kid for just a tiny bit longer before I go back to war.'

"But you are a genius Naruto." The Uchiha said, confusion clear in his tone. "Yeah you can be silly, and you play jokes and Bakashi doesn't, but… you're not the same as me, or Anko, or Guy. You're a genius."

"No. No I'm not Obito." She muttered. "I'm really not, and I need you to understand that I never want you to think that, or call me that."

"Naruto…?" Obito looked at her, his brows furrowing, and the blonde had to remind herself that he was just a kid. Barely six years old, but even still...

"It's like… like when someone calls you a crybaby." Naruto went on. "You have your reasons for hating it, and you don't deserve to be called that, because it isn't true."

"Naru, you're talking like being called a genius is bad." Obito murmured. "I don't think it's the same as when people call me a crybaby ninja."

'In a way it is an insult. But mostly it's… a lie.'

"I just… I don't like it." The blonde told him honestly, masked face uncharacteristically grim. "It's like saying I don't have to try to do something right, you know? It kinda just… makes the things I do seem like I don't have to work for them."

'And I hate that because I did have to work for my power.' Naruto thought. 'I worked my ass off in my time to get stronger… and now… just like my past self doesn't exist in this present, neither do my accomplishments. And it sucks.'

"Naru, I really don't get it." Obito said, reaching out and taking her bare hand for the second time that day. "But… if you don't like it, I won't ever call you it. And I'll tell everyone else not to too."

Naruto's pursed lips lifted slightly in appreciation.

"Thanks Obito." She said.

The little Uchiha shrugged a little.

"No biggie."

"Shorty, Loser, it's time for dinner." Kakashi called from the back porch, his tone drab. The little blonde noted his timing was just too spot on, right after the Uzumaki and Uchiha had concluded their conversation.

'Had he been listening?' She wondered. Naruto casted a suspicious stink eyed look over her shoulder at her fellow masked six year old, and Obito shook his free fist at the other boy.

The silver haired Chunin scoffed under his breath, and disappeared back into the compound's back door.

'I'll ask him about what he heard later.' The blonde decided on. For the moment, Naruto's attention shifted back to her friend when he squeezed her hand gently.

"What is it buddy?" She asked.

Obito shook his head, his wide dark eyes studying her under the evening light.

"I just… I really don't get you sometimes Naruto." He said. "I just… don't."

"I know." She said softly, squeezing his hand back. "But that's okay. Someday you might."

Obito pouted.

"But I want to now."

"Don't be a baby." Naruto said, a teasing light in her eyes.

The Uchiha pouted harder.

Naruto honestly felt a little better.

Fuck me I have no idea what I'm doing anymore. Halp.