(posted 8/4/17)

Shout out to 111segasonic! Happy Birthday! :D

CHAPTER 10 | Retrospection

Orochimaru insisted that staying put was the best way to resolve Jiraiya's fears. Naruto suspected he just wanted to see the confrontation play out in person.

Though it was tempting to leave and find Jiraiya himself, Naruto knew he couldn't gloss over the incident this time. Finding evidence on Orochimaru was their mission, and as terrible as it was, at least this would be the irrefutable proof they had been looking for.

Besides, Obito couldn't go home until he recovered enough to use kamui again. Naruto wasn't about to abandon him, but he didn't want to run into Jiraiya with Obito hanging around, either. Orochimaru was one thing, but Naruto still wasn't prepared to explain everything about Obito.

Orochimaru called his decision 'slightly disappointing'.

"That is where you are lacking the most right now. Saving everyone and keeping your integrity might be mutually exclusive pursuits. Don't forget the lesson your friends in the future learned."

Receiving lectures from Orochimaru, of all people, was a bad way to end an already bad day. Thankfully, the snake left them alone after that. He said he would continue looking for clues about where Sasuke went, but Naruto didn't really believe him.

Neither of them slept well. It was difficult to relax inside the stronghold of their greatest enemy, surrounded by dozens of empty rooms and dark hallways.

When Obito successfully used kamui to phase his hand into a wall the next morning, he said that he would be going home as soon as possible.

"I'll hang back and watch to make sure you and Jiraiya-sama make it out of here safely," he said. "I'll catch up with you sometime later. I still think we can help each other out. But I need to go make sure nothing has gotten too off track with my timeline."

Naruto knew first-hand that Jiraiya would be there soon, because he had sat using Sage Mode most of the previous evening. He could have sent a message through the Toads to explain things, but he wasn't even sure how he was going to explain it face-to-face, much less through a message.

When Jiraiya came crashing into the base with a lack of subtlety that resembled the worst of his student's own recklessness, Naruto realized a simple confirmation that he was unharmed might have been a good idea.

He and Obito were walking in one of the long halls when he heard the crash from inside the large circular antechamber. Naruto whirled around and saw a bright, angry light flare up from the end of the hall, and a heatwave blasted into the corridor, sweeping them with a dry, scorching breeze. They held up their arms against it to shield their faces from the heat.

"Wow," Obito said. "Leave it to a Sannin. I thought you said he was injured?"

"Ah, crap!" Naruto started running. Obito stepped sideways into the wall and disappeared from sight.

"Stop!" Naruto burst out the moment he ran into the room.

Burning puddles of oil sizzled on the floor. The air inside the chamber was stifling, but Jiraiya didn't seem to be affected—and neither did Orochimaru, who stood on the opposite end.

Orochimaru's face was drawn into a grin of pure delight. He held up a half-ram sign, eyes gleaming with intrigue.

"Oi!" Naruto said loudly. He didn't need Orochimaru starting a fight out of misplaced nostalgia. "Do you call this a 'diplomatic' meeting? Wait, why am I even asking that? Your standards for diplomatic aren't anywhere close to normal."

"Naruto!" Jiraiya looked concerned, confused, and maybe a little angry. "What is going on? Where have you been?"

Naruto inhaled deeply and instantly regretted it, as the air was still scorched and filled with the smell of burning oil.

He coughed. "Okay, first of all—gimme a second—that was really awesome—how come you never show me any jutsu like that? Second, I was in another time, I'm sorry. I'm not hurt," he added when Jiraiya came closer to give him a once-over. "I really hate to say it, but it was Orochimaru who helped me get back here this time. I had to ask for his help since he knew all about it. It's kind of complicated, but this Orochimaru here is the one from the future. The one who started it all."

Jiraiya looked sharply at Orochimaru. "I thought this wasn't supposed to happen again. You're… you're the one from the future?"

"Yes, Jiraiya." Orochimaru opened his palms and smiled pleasantly. "You have found what you were looking for: proof that what Naruto-kun told you was completely true, and the culprit himself is right in front of you."

"No, wait," Naruto grabbed Jiraiya's arm as he moved. Even though it was more out of concern for the injured man than anything, it felt strange trying to stop him. "He's not the one we need to be worrying about right now."

"What have you done to Naruto?" Jiraiya asked quietly, though he didn't move another step forward.

"Nothing," Naruto said. "I'm saying that we need to try to find Sasuke! He left here to go somewhere on his own while all of this was happening. There's just a lot of it you don't—"

"We suspected you allowing Naruto to return meant you had some larger scheme in mind. I'm guessing that has to do with this."

Naruto felt cold suddenly. Did they know that Orochimaru had controlled him—or at least guessed it?

"Not quite, but I can't say I'm disappointed with how things have turned out. It's fun to be back here. You haven't changed at all, Jiraiya. Perhaps you never will."

"Yeah? And what about you? Let me guess, the second you got here, you got rid of your younger self in order to go around in his place without anyone noticing."

"Hm. We have known each other a very long time, after all," Orochimaru conceded. "But my 'scheme', as you put it, is a lot simpler than you seem to think. I have been interested in dimensional travel for some time. As for why I decided to act on that interest right now, I'll tell you: because something changed that should not have been changed—could not have been, based on Naruto-kun's actions alone—as far as I can tell. I want to understand this."

"Wait, that's not what you told me!" Naruto said.

"What thing are you talking about?" Jiraiya said with a frown. "Do you mean everything happening in Kirigakure?"

"No. That has indeed changed, but I can guess the origin of that change. I'm talking about something closer to myself. That book you took from my base. I'm curious as to how it changed locations, especially considering the place you found it was, in my time, destroyed during the Kiri rebellion."

"I don't get it," Naruto said.

"To put it very simply, I don't think that jutsu was ever meant to be developed. What happened in my timeline may be an anomaly. That makes me all the more interested in studying dimensional jutsu."

"And why do you need to come here to study it?"

"Because this is my only option for now," Orochimaru said smoothly. "It's exactly as you guessed. I intended to make a contract with someone in another time, then send them back. I did it so that I could be reverse-summoned here when the time was right. As you can see, it worked."

There was no way that was true. It didn't match anything Orochimaru had already said. The lie made Naruto uncomfortable. Then it made him mad. Orochimaru was intentionally taunting him.

"No," he said loudly, pointing at Orochimaru. "That's not why you sent me back. You did it so you could see into the past. Using it that way wouldn't have…" Naruto lowered his hand. "Could that have worked?"

"My apologies, you are correct. It would not have been possible to use you that way, thanks to Minato's interference."

"Why can't you just give a straight answer for once?" Naruto growled.

"Alright, I'll answer, if you can answer this: if two people you have sworn to protect tried to kill one another, who would you choose to save?"

He was thrown off by the unexpected question. But the answer was very simple. "I'd find a way to save them both."

"Ah yes, of course. But how far would you be willing to go in the process? Would you give up everything you want? Would you kill? You'll find yourself cornered with a very painful choice if you don't think about those questions beforehand."

"That's enough, Orochimaru." Jiraiya glanced down at Naruto, visibly concerned. "No matter what you say, or how you managed to get here, you're coming back to the village to answer for what you've done."

"It would be heartwarming to see the old village again in person. But I'd rather sightsee on my own terms. This is where we say goodbye for now."

Jiraiya's hair suddenly grew to many times its natural length and shot toward Orochimaru. But as the spiky mass wrapped around Orochimaru's form, he dissolved into a knot of snakes. The creatures slithered down to the floor and away in all directions. Naruto backed up with a disgusted look.

"Damn. He must have left a while ago," Jiraiya said. His hair shrank back to normal. "I got here as fast as I could, but with him lowering the barrier on this place… I knew he'd have something planned."

"This is so, so not good."

"Yeah. But at least we get to walk away from this one. It could have been a lot worse." Jiraiya looked around the chamber. "I doubt we'll find any leads as to where they went, either. I think it's time we returned home."

"Wait, but… Sasuke is still missing!"

"I feel for you, but we have to return to the village, at least for a little while," Jiraiya said. "The part about looking for Sasuke was unofficial. Technically, we've completed our mission, and Tsunade will want a report so we can figure out what to do with this information. Not looking forward to that."

Naruto looked down at the floor. His stomach sank in disappointment, but he was hardly surprised.

"Here," Jiraiya added, and tossed Naruto his backpack. "You left all your stuff at the resort. And you left the room a mess. If you hadn't gone to another dimension against your will, I'd have had the hostess make you scrub the baths."

Naruto couldn't help but smile at that. He pulled his faithful orange-and-blue jacket from the bag. He never felt quite right without its comforting weight on his shoulders.

"Going home… at least I'll get to catch Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan up on everything that happened. Maybe if it's all of us, Baa-chan will come up with a way we can go look for Sasuke. We should bring him back as a team."

"Yeah, maybe. Just don't expect it any time soon. Orochimaru and Akatsuki are out there." Jiraiya ruffled Naruto's hair. "But for what it's worth, I think you'll manage it. Listen to your gut, not Orochimaru."

Jiraiya smiled, but the concern behind his eyes couldn't have been more evident.

They kept traveling until it was time to make camp, not stopping until they were well inside the Land of Fire. Jiraiya sent a message ahead to Tsunade after they settled down in a natural cave.

Naruto started planning out what he would tell the rest of his team when they got back home. Even if they all had to beg for an official mission to find Sasuke, he was sure they could get it done. Before Sasuke tried going after Itachi. Before he could be used by Tobi.

Jiraiya didn't comment when Naruto sat back against the rock wall and sat in Sage Mode with his eyes closed. After all, he had done it every day since they first left the village. It was partly to practice, and partly to search for Sasuke—though it had yet to succeed there.

"Any luck?" Jiraiya asked when the Mode ran out and Naruto opened his eyes again.

"No. I was really hoping I could find Sasuke now that he's not being blocked by the hideout's barrier. But I still can't see him."

"There could be any number of reasons," Jiraiya said. "Your Sage Mode may be one step shy of perfect, but your versatility with it is unlike anything I've seen. I don't think ability is the problem in this case."

"Itachi is still out there, too. I think he knows we're not close to the mountain anymore."

"Wonderful. Let's make sure we get home before he can catch up to us."

Naruto had sensed Itachi several times while they were staying at the onsen, but he never seemed to get close. Maybe that was more than just luck. Something about the mountain made it difficult for anyone to navigate, unless they were on good terms with the Toads.

If they encountered him again, it would be tense. But Naruto was not as averse to the idea as Jiraiya was. Maybe Itachi would have some idea of where Sasuke went. And if he didn't, maybe he could be convinced to help this time.

But Itachi never ventured close enough for a confrontation to happen. Even when Naruto checked again the next day, after they had camped all night, he was no closer to them before. In fact, he stayed exactly the same distance away the entire time.

Tobi arrived at the place Sasori had told him about, the red bridge among the long, sweeping grasses of Kusa. Maybe it was a sense of curiosity that led him here. Maybe it was because Uchiha Sasuke had shown admirable resourcefulness, finding a way to contact him in the first place.

He appeared, stepping out of thin air beside Sasuke's cloaked figure. The younger Uchiha didn't flinch, but threw back the hood of his cloak. His eyes were already glowing red.

"Madara."

"It is bold of you to come here alone. I hope you have something to say that's worth my time."

"I have looked at all the information Orochimaru has gathered about Akatsuki. All he knows about you is that you call yourself Madara, and you act separately from the others. But you were the one behind the Mizukage. You're an Uchiha."

"Of course I am. Or has the name Madara already been erased from the history books?"

Sasuke snorted. "No. But he died a long time ago. You, on the other hand, must have had a reason for surviving the massacre. You must have helped instigate it."

"You can believe what you want. I didn't come here to argue with a child. What do you want?"

Sasuke took a breath. "Akatsuki. I want to know what its goals are. How you plan on achieving them. And what your role is in all of this."

"Oh? Do you have an interest in joining us? I'm afraid you lack some of the necessary qualities."

"No. I plan on destroying Itachi and you either way. But it will help to know who I'm up against." Sasuke spoke calmly, but his posture was tense. "When Orochimaru was involved with the rebels from Kirigakure, he had a theory that the Mizukage was host to the three-tailed beast. And since the Mizukage was killed, we wouldn't have to worry about you anymore. It's because you need the three-tailed beast, isn't it? You can't do anything until it manifests itself again."

Tobi made no visible response. Sasuke's mouth tightened into a thin line. It was clear he expected to be attacked at any moment. But when Tobi spoke again, it was with the shade of near amusement.

"It's obvious there's more to your question than what you are asking. All right, I'll tell you… if there's something you can help me with in return."

Tsunade was prepared to meet Naruto and Jiraiya when they returned. But the homecoming was not as exciting as Naruto had hoped.

"What do you mean, they're not here?" he said, leaning over the desk.

Tsunade gave him a raised eyebrow. "Kakashi and Sakura are on a mission with Team Gai. Don't forget, we still have a village to run while you're off time-traveling and battling foreign leaders."

"It sounds like you're jealous, Tsunade-hime," Jiraiya teased. "Is all the paperwork getting to you?"

Tsunade cleared her throat. "As I understand it, this Orochimaru claims he won't do anything against us. But we know he is more dangerous than before—maybe even as dangerous as Akatsuki. Is that right?"

"I'm sure he gained even more power from absorbing his younger self," Jiraiya said, serious now. "If he combines his methods for immortality with the ability to travel across dimensions, he might be able to keep gathering power like that indefinitely."

There was an uncomfortable pause.

"So the fight has made it to our world. I hope this really is a first attempt. Maybe our Orochimaru isn't completely gone," Tsunade said.

Naruto looked from Tsunade to Jiraiya. As far as he was concerned, he didn't want either version around. He didn't miss the younger Orochimaru at all, except maybe because he wasn't as powerful. It was easy to forget sometimes that Orochimaru had been their teammate.

"So, are we gonna go after him?" he said, breaking the silence.

"Orochimaru and Akatsuki are both threats, and they need to be brought down," Tsunade said matter-of-factly. "Akatsuki isn't likely to make any big moves for the next few years, but that's no guarantee. Our resources haven't fully recovered, so we can't expect to take both of them on at once. Still… I believe what you experienced in the future timeline is real. We don't know how much bearing it has on our world, but if there's any resemblance at all, something has to be done. But we will need help before Akatsuki gets any bolder. We can't do this alone."

"Do you think any of the other villages will listen?" Jiraiya said.

"Before this happened, I had already sent several ambassadors to try to set up a meeting. None of them have been successful so far."

"You should ask Suna for help!" Naruto said excitedly. "Gaara will listen! If they're on our side, the other villages might want to listen more."

"No," Tsunade said. "I will only ask them as a last resort. Gaara is not the Kazekage yet, though it seems some people have been talking about him. But after everything that happened at the Exams, and without an official leader, Suna will be sticking to their own business for a while."

"But—"

"Even asking them would be a bad idea. They betrayed us to Orochimaru, of all people. It's not that I don't believe you. But it would be an extremely unpopular move, and we don't need that right now."

"Leave all that boring stuff to us. You should get some rest," Jiraiya said abruptly, steering Naruto by the shoulders to Tsunade's office door. They clearly wanted to discuss the problem without him interrupting every few seconds.

That was how Naruto ended up on the wide street outside of the Hokage tower with nothing to do, and no one to pester with ideas. So he hitched his pack on his shoulder and loped down the street in the direction of his apartment. At least he could prepare for the next trip out, whenever it would be.

Naruto's feet found the right path automatically. His eyes slid over the homes and shops, their faces very familiar and early-afternoon. So much had happened since leaving the village that his convalescence felt like a distant memory. Weeks spent in the hospital after months in another time, and he was gone after a couple of days. There hadn't really been a chance to see home again.

But Sasuke had been gone just as long. And that—for some reason, that mattered. It wasn't really home until they could all come home.

The place where they grew up was small compared to everything he now knew existed. But it was theirs. This world belonged to them.

Naruto paused. He didn't come this way very often, and suddenly he remembered why. It wasn't because he didn't know the way from here.

It was a street full of shops, just like any other in this area. It had a lot of open store fronts that always made it feel bustling and lively. The downside was that there were always a lot of people there, and everybody could see everybody else. And some of the proprietors here were ones he had never really gotten along with. Naruto's passage definitely did not go unnoticed.

It was really subtle—nothing compared to his Academy days. Just a couple of wary, sidelong glances. A man giving out samples deliberately smiled at someone behind him, so they wouldn't make accidental eye contact.

Don't stop here, their body language said. We know what you are.

Something so minor would have barely been a blip on his radar last year. But the difference from the future was too jarring. He'd already forgotten long-ingrained habits like taking a different route home.

Grumpiness settling in, Naruto turned a corner earlier than planned, squeezing into a little-noticed alley to the street over. He kicked a rock hard and it bounced off the side of a building and spun into the dirt right in front of someone else. It was a familiar man with long, dirty-blond hair wearing a gray coat.

"Naruto-kun?" He looked over in puzzlement as Naruto emerged from the alleyway. "I didn't expect to see you back in the village so soon."

Naruto stopped a short distance from him. "Um… Ino's old man."

"Yamanaka Inoichi. It's been a while. You delivered ramen to us at the shop, remember?" The corners of Inoichi's eyes crinkled in a friendly smile.

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to kick that rock at you," Naruto muttered sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it. I wouldn't be a very good shinobi if I got nailed with that. I'm sure it would give someone a good laugh, though. I'm glad to see you out of the hospital. Even if you kept us in good business." Inoichi chuckled.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You had a good stream of visitors for a while there. The kids in your class, Gai's kids, all of you that were in the Exams last time. Even Ino—oops, I'm not supposed to tell you that, though." He put his hands together with an apologetic grimace.

"Oh, yeah," Naruto said, remembering. "Hinata said they came to visit me until Baa-chan made them stop because of health worries or something."

"So that was it. I got the feeling those kids were taking it personally, two members of their class disappearing at the same time. I worry about holding them back when we find out who was responsible."

Naruto wasn't sure what to say about the 'who'; he didn't know how much other people were allowed to know.

"We shouldn't be held back. We should all go after who did it, and find Sasuke while we're at it."

"Good point." Inoichi grinned. "Well, it was good to see you. Come by the shop sometime." He walked on, holding one hand up in a brief wave.

Naruto watched Inoichi leave. Then, remembering what he was doing, started off again toward home.

Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea, getting the others involved in finding Sasuke. In the future, they had worked together to try to get him back when he first ran away. Did it still count as the future if the moment had already passed? Whatever. Naruto was sure he could convince them to help. He just needed to talk to Kakashi and Sakura and come up with a plan.

Naruto ended up in front of his apartment door before he knew it. He fished around for the key in his backpack and turned the lock.

"I'm home," he said to the empty air before closing the door behind him.

The fridge was completely barren—no surprises there. He filled the electric kettle and went to his room while the water heated up. He tossed the back pack onto the floor and flopped backward on his bed. He'd gotten so used to training with Sage Mode that he closed his eyes and started tracing the strands of energy all around just by habit.

It always unfolded the same way. The strains of energy all around were like hidden smells that couldn't be sensed, unless you were trying to smell them.

It started around his body, his own circulating aura of energy. Then inevitably, another strand would interact with it. The vision-sense would jump into it, feeling everything it touched, like a droplet of water making a path along a window pane.

He thought maybe Itachi wouldn't be around now that he was back in the village. But he could still sense him. Itachi was further away than before, well outside of the village, but close enough that it couldn't be a coincidence.

Yellow eyes leered at Naruto through the dreamy colorscape. It was back. The cold, dry strand he'd felt the first time he successfully used Sage Mode.

Naruto opened his eyes and lightly touched his brow. It had hardly sunk in that the future timeline's Orochimaru was in this world now. How had it gotten to this point? They'd been so frantic, everything went by so fast that it was hard to tell.

Fear—no, it was not fear. Fear was a stupid reaction when nothing bad had happened yet.

The ancient kettle rattled loudly in its base as the water started to boil. It came nearly to boiling over before automatically switching off. Naruto pushed himself up to go make his ramen. He poured the hot water in carefully, staring hard at the swirling cloud of steam.

"I'm watching you, too," he muttered.

There had to be a way Naruto could take advantage of this break. He had no idea when Obito would come back. There would be stuff to do once Kakashi and Sakura returned. And it might be a while before he got days off again.

Maybe now was the time for a bit of reckless action.

Chapter 11: Leaf-Hidden, will post August 11.